


Snared Hope

by Kaimiiru



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Absolutely no smut, Blood, Honestly not bad but mature just in case, Manipulation, Moral dilemmas abundant, Other, Suicide, Violence, negative and positive aspects of a very shaky relationship, the reset power eventually makes everyone crazy, there’s sex jokes tho, things are not black and white
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:35:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 70,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25735903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaimiiru/pseuds/Kaimiiru
Summary: Post-True Pacifist. Once a month, Frisk visits Flowey and tells him about the Surface, trying to get him to come with them. However, Flowey can’t leave. And, after years of solitude, he decides that Frisk can’t leave either.Heavily based on a rp, so povs switch between Frisk and Flowey. Focuses mostly on their relationship and how they affect the world around them.
Relationships: Chara & Flowey & Frisk (Undertale), Flowey & Frisk (Undertale), Frisk (Undertale) & Everyone
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	1. Thunder

**Author's Note:**

> Petal mun is the one that wrote Flowey and they know they “made him go ooc sometimes because it was just fun sometimes.” Ok Petal.

It was a snowy winter day blowing in when Frisk walked into the Underground’s depths. They had grown somewhat over the years after the True Pacifist run, currently a teenager, but they kept a blue coat with pink patterns on it and had on jeans and a pair of brown boots, too.

Every month, they snuck away from town to visit. They came up with excuses, stories, and sometimes simply stated ‘It’s a secret’. Because Flowey didn’t want to come with them. He didn’t want to go home. Luckily, the other monsters trusted Frisk and usually didn’t ask too many questions about where they went to.

They followed a familiar path, towards the deepest part of the Underground. Along the way, they checked their bag. Water bottles, some snacks from the surface they got from Alphys and Sans (some magic, some not), some of Toriel’s pie they snuck in, and some magical plant food. Maybe Flowey would eat it this time?

They sometimes came across glowing star save points and touched them briefly to SAVE. It was... a habit. Probably a bad one.

Anyway, they didn’t stop until they reached the end of the ruins, where they had first fallen in. Was Flowey here?

Flowey was indeed in the ruins, a vine holding up a watering can as he watered the bed of golden flowers above Chara's grave. He was rather lonely in the underground, and quite bored as well. Sure he tried to play games to keep him occupied but... He already had read every book, beaten every game... done everything possible all by himself. The underground was slowly becoming more and more boring, but even so he refused to leave. He may be empty again, but he remembered what it felt like when he had everyone's souls, he remembered what love and compassion felt like.... even if he couldn't feel it now. He didn't want to hurt anyone, and he didn't deserve a happy ending. And so long as he stayed in the underground no one would be hurt.

In fact, when the barrier first was broken it wasn't so bad. He got to observe people pack their things and leave, watch as some took only the essentials and abandoned the rest, while others decided to take every last fiber of their belongings with them. It was strange seeing the place as empty as it was now, without dust everywhere.  
The only ones that remained immediately after the barrier broke were a couple of froggits that had left the ruins for their very first time, but it didn't take them long before they wanted to go to the surface as well.  
And now? The last froggit had left a few weeks back, he was truly alone. There was no one but him.

Flowey set the watering can down, staring at the grave-site of flowers. Frisk normally came sometime today, unless of course he got his days wrong. It confused him as to why they kept coming. Didn't they have anything better to do? They came back month after month, bringing him gifts and trying to urge him to leave.

And every time it was the same answer.

_No, I don't want to leave. I'll just hurt everyone._

It was almost as if they were fooled into thinking he cared. The thing was, he didn't care at all if he hurt anyone. That was the issue. He just didn't care.

And unless he was able to care again he didn't want to risk hurting the friends he used to care about.

He paused his train of thought, hearing footsteps approach from behind. There they were.  
He turned around and gave them a cheery smile in greeting, "Howdy Frisk! Still haven't forgotten about me I see."

“Not a chance!” Frisk retorted, giving Flowey a confident smile. They picked their way through the flowers carefully, trying not to crush Flowey’s hard work, and swung their backpack off to fumble through it in a small clearing nearby.

Flowey rolled his eyes. It wasn't that hard to forget him right? He asked them to forget about him all that while ago, and they kept coming back, completely ignoring such a simple request.

Trying to get Flowey to come to the surface was Frisk’s main goal, however they also simply wanted to keep him company. Even if Flowey didn’t really consider them a friend, that had never stopped them from considering him a friend. Even after everything... well, especially after everything, they wanted him to find his own sort of happiness too, even if in his own soulless way. They were determined to help him find it, and they were sure that staying down here was not helping at all!

“I brought us some snacks if you want.” Frisk offered, setting out chips, crackers, the stolen pie, and the magic plant food on the ground neatly. They would then sit back and examine the place, uncapping a water bottle to drink from it. It had been a long walk up the mountain and through the entire underground!

_More snacks,_ Flowey thought to himself as Frisk pulled pulling out various food items. He didn't make a motion to eat any of them though, he never ate anything Frisk left him until after they left. He didn't want them to think that he enjoyed the snacks they brought him, "As always, I'm not going to eat any of that," he grumbled out, looking away in a fake look of frustration as Frisk drank from their water bottle.

Frisk likely saw through his lie and knew that he ate most, if not all, of the snacks when they left. It wasn't like he was an idiot that thought otherwise. It was simply too late to start changing his story is all.

"Well, I'll leave em here if you change your mind. Oh, Alphys introduced me to these!" Frisk picked up a bag of seaweed crackers, "They're pretty good, just a little salty though." They said as they opened the bag. They were little cylinder rice crackers with dried seaweed around them. "It's human food from the land of Anime, Japan!" They put one in their mouth and chewed on it for a moment, looking up and examining Flowey for the first time since they arrived. It was a curious sort of stare, noting his status, trying to figure him out. A CHECK.

Flowey:  
Atk: 16  
Def: 10  
Hp: 20  
 _*He doesn't care about you. He's just lonely._

Flowey nodded. They confused him so much. Why did they keep bringing him various snacks?

"I've never seen you eat anything before! When are you going to show me how that works?" They teased. The probing look didn't last long.

Flowey would raise an eyebrow, and then open his mouth and make a dramatic chewing motion before smirking, "Just like anyone else would. I eat it with my mouth," he rolled his eyes, "but I'm not going to eat any of that. You should just stop trying to waste food on me. I'm sure you'd enjoy it a lot more than me!" He winked playfully.

They squinted at Flowey's mouth. No matter how big he had gotten, they couldn't figure out how his mouth worked. Oh well... magic wasn't really logical.

"I got plenty of snacks! Besides, it's customary to bring snacks to someone's house." Frisk said, pointedly setting the rice crackers aside and crossing their arms with a huff. They would be lying if they said that they didn't care what Flowey did with the snacks- they always brought the snacks with him in mind, hoping he'd finally give in and show interest in at least one while they were watching!

_I'll have to bring in better snacks next time! And sharpen my culinary skills further!_ They thought.

"I thought it was customary to give snacks to visitors. I think you got it backwards," Flowey rolled his eyes, watching them with interest as they set the rice crackers down.

"Just you wait, one day I'll bring in something so delicious not even you can resist!" Frisk declared as an act of war, pointing to Flowey.

He glanced back at them, giving them a look that read 'really?' Specifically the look he would give the player if they avoided his friendliness pellets the first time, "You already know nothing can beat Toriel's pie... and look, here I am! Resisting it!" His face went back to a cheery smile, "Boy, you'll never find something I can't resist now can ya? Besides, why would it even matter if I liked the stuff ya brought me?"

"I don't know the future!" Frisk said, quite happy of the fact, "It's a challenging goal worth pursuing... I'll never know if I don't try!"

They paused, thinking about the second question. Something simple like 'because you're my friend!' didn't really get them anywhere, no matter how many times they said it in the past. They tried to think for a deeper answer this time, even if Flowey made fun of them for it.

"... Because it would give me a chance to try to convince you to eat more things on the surface." They admitted. And eating together with their friends gave them a warm, fuzzy feeling... but Flowey couldn't feel those things, right? Frisk suddenly felt that they were being quite selfish at that moment.

"It's a worthless goal, and a worthless reason," he tilted his head slightly, smiling cheerfully towards them, "Besides. You know how dangerous it is for me to be on the surface. I could kill everyone you love and care about. You wouldn't want that right?" He giggled a bit, "Hehe.... and the worst part is... that I wouldn't care one bit about what I did!"

"Yeah, yeah." Frisk sighed, already used to Flowey's threats. They weren't afraid of him, more afraid for him. "It's a possibility, right? A route that you could take. And you know it's bad. But... you could always choose to be a good person. I can help you with that if you lose your way." They say confidently, almost in a practiced manner. They were making their offer to leave with Flowey again, their words edited over the months they were on the surface, after Flowey refused them again and again, "A continued existence isn't all that bad... people change so differently, and there's so many things to see. It's such a vast world out there that I don't think I could even explore it all." There was still a sort of awe in their voice, somewhat similar to a monster's when they were first freed. They had been stuck resetting and reloading in the underground for what felt like so long...

"We could take little steps! Just go out and see the sky in the open air with me?" They offer, holding out their hand to Flowey.

Flowey rolled their eyes as they spoke, halfway listening. He had learned to tone Frisk out somewhat, since they were just trying to convince him to leave to the surface. It wasn't anything new. He did however pause when Frisk held out their hand, causing him to blink and look over to them, "Oh, sorry I was toning you out because you're full of crap," he gave them a smug look, "What was that you were saying? Probably something about carrying me to the surface?" He didn't care if Frisk knew that he didn't listen to them. He wanted to make their speech worthless, because that's exactly what it was. Worthless.

  
...

  
Although he did enjoy the fact that they kept coming back, even if it meant they kept trying to convince him to leave.

Frisk lowered their hand and flopped back on the ground in a huffy manner. If Flowey didn’t want to come then they wouldn’t force him, of course. They did get frustrated, and it was sometimes tempting to come down with a shovel and try to dig him out, but they knew that’d be erasing whatever amount of trust they’d built up. Next month, they’d try to shorten their ‘come to the surface’ speech before Flowey could tune them out, they decided.

“Why do you think I’d need to carry you! You’re independent, you can travel anywhere you want. Have you even peeked outside?” They ask, remaining on the ground.

"I've peeked up there," He motioned towards the hole far up above the gravesite to the ruins. Although, the sun didn't entirely make its way down from such a far up distance, "But I'm glad you know that I wouldn't want to be carried!" He smiled over towards them, "Don't you have anything better to do than come back month after month? I mean honestly Frisk... You already know what my answer is going to be, why do you keep expecting different results? That's the definition of insanity!" He stuck his tongue out playfully for a moment before going back to his normal smile, "Nothing you say is going to convince me to go to the surface. Understand?"

Frisk sat up to look at Flowey as he spoke. Were they really insane? They wondered. Did their efforts mean nothing? Were they just...

“I don’t believe that.” They said, “Maybe... I am crazy. Maybe you’ll never leave for as long as I live.” They said slowly, “But, there’s something else, something other than my goal of getting you to the surface that’s bringing me here... I just want to talk to you. Cause’ you’re the only one who really understands.” They turned away to look at the hole in the ceiling they had once fallen through, “The only one who remembers how terrible I could be.” They say softer, and smile a bit. They decided not to guess out loud that Flowey was lonely; he’d likely vehemently deny it.

And they were right, Flowey would have acted like Frisk claimed he was a soulful caring monster, so it was a good idea they didn't say he was lonely.

"Hmmm well I suppose a friendly chat never hurts!" He continued to smile joyfully, "And of course I remember! I remember every mistake you made. Golly, you were almost as bad as me some runs huh? Except, I don't recall if you ever tried to kill Sans in front of Papyrus. I did that once... Broke the felleh's heart, but for one intriguing reason or another he still believed I could be good, and even offered to be my friend to help me!" His face turned to his creepy dark fanged smile, "Undyne was right to not put him in the royal guard. Papyrus wouldn't kill anyone, he doesn't have the strength to do it. But you do! Even if no one knows it but me!"

As usual, thinking about their past near-genocidal runs made Frisk shake a little. Their LV 1 refused to let them be numb to the memories of killing nearly everyone over multiple runs, even if everyone was all alive and happier now.

“Yeah... Well, I never cou-could kill Sans.” Frisk admitted, trying hard to keep their cool, “And I’m not killing anyone anymore of course!” They add, making an x-shape gesture with their arms,

Flowey huffed a bit, "Yeah, remember how mad I was that you reset back to the beginning and gave up? You were so close to a true ending!" He winked, despite the fact that he had been terrified of them before they entered the judgement hall, even to the point of shaking and telling them to stay away, "Although I think I like this ending, even if it's boring."

“Papyrus is just... a good person. Probably the best.” They said, before they ended up crying, “He’s gotten really strong, too. He’s actively manipulating space to put puzzles in silly places... at my school he even put one in the hallway.” They chuckled a little, “It was really fun cause’ everyone was so confused and then we were working together to solve it. But the principal got really mad because we were ‘disrupting the peace’ or something.” They blew a disappointed raspberry sound into the air.

He didn't seem to pay any mind to their tears, if anything just looking a bit... confused to say the least.

"And that doesn't surprise me with Papyrus, he would fit a puzzle anywhere."

They had been so... possessed. So filled with determination that it made every other feeling blank, and all their love was nearly gone to the numbness. Frisk shivered.

“... I like this ending too. I just don’t want to disregard my bad choices and mistakes. They remind me to be kind, even if I don’t want to.” They concluded. They sat up and shuffled through their backpack. They pulled on some gloves from there, “Anyway, I’m gonna help you with gardening! Asgore taught me more about it. Didja churn the soil lately?” They asked, looking to Flowey, “We could do something else, too...” They took out the magic smartphone Alphys gave them to check the time. “You have to suffer in my presence for about three more hours.” They teased.

"Of course I churned the soul! I grew up with Asgore before I turned into a flower, and read all his gardening books while I was a flower. I know a thing or two about gardening, why do you think these things are still alive?" Flowey winked happily, not seeming to care that they shivered, "And golly, I'm not sure I'll live with 3 more hours of you!" His voice had a hint of sarcasm, almost as if hinting that he wouldn't suffer at all from them staying for that long, "Whatever will I do?"

"Oh, yeah." Frisk muttered. They somehow got the idea that Flowey was sulking the entire time he lived with Asgore.

The hint of sarcasm made them smile. Logically, if Flowey didn't like them to be here, he probably would've just hid or something... but hearing small proofs like that response was reassuring. Maybe they weren't as selfish as they thought they were being.

"Well, since gardening's out the window..." Frisk hummed thoughtfully, shuffling through their backpack again, "We could make puzzles." They took out a notebook and a pen, and flipped through the partially filled notebook to an empty page. While talking was... well, maybe not fun, but cathartic, they still wanted to play.

"Sure, although I bet all of yours will be easy to solve. I'm quite the puzzle solver!" Flowey boasted, a smug look appearing on his face, "I know I could probably make some puzzles you'll never solve!"

“You’re on!” Frisk declared. They didn’t have the puzzle-building skills Papyrus had, but they did show Flowey some of their puzzles in what they proclaimed as their ‘awesome puzzle notebook’. There were quite a few, and they were mostly straightforward and a trial-and-error. Having Papyrus as Frisk’s co-ambassador made them want to make puzzles! They talked about the skeleton’s antics and the other monsters when they had a moment, unless Flowey gave them a puzzle instead.

They were intent on solving all his puzzles! When they were trying to solve one, they were quiet and scribbling notes down. Along the way, they were inspired by Flowey’s methods and made up new puzzles for him to solve in return, and made the existing ones more difficult when he solved them.

Flowey had more or less found their puzzles to be rather easy. He didn't exactly like puzzles, but they most certainly were a way to not be bored. Of course, he made sure to complain how easy Frisk's puzzles were, and taunted them about how easy his own puzzles where whenever they seemed to struggle. He found himself being rather amused whenever Frisk struggled on any of the puzzles, and decided to give them a puzzle that he thought would be near impossible for them to complete.

He watched as they stared at his final puzzle in full concentration, eagerly awaiting for them to find the solution... that was until their phone alarm went off.

It was a lot of fun, and Frisk was so deep in concentration about one of Flowey’s puzzles that they nearly jumped out of their skin.

“Dangit! I lost my train of thought!” They groan, and take out their phone to turn it off. As an ambassador and a recent high schooler, they were very busy and basically lived on a schedule with their alarms. Even if they didn’t want to leave at the moment, they had to, otherwise Toriel would get worried.

Was it already time for them to go...? Golly, time sure went by fast when you weren't bored.

And... he’d have to wait an entire month before they even got a little bit of company again. No, they could at least finish the puzzle right? What was the rush?

“Well, I’ll leave you to clean up the snacks.” Frisk said, a typical goodbye to Flowey when their visit had to end. They put their notebook away and got up, swinging the backpack over their shoulder. “I’ll see you next month! And I’ll definitely solve that puzzle!”

"..." Flowey frowned a bit, "Come on, can't you at least try to solve it before you go? You're going to forget all about it by next month!" His face changed to one of annoyance, "And if you take it with you then you'll just get Papyrus to solve it, I'm not an idiot!"

"Oh, haha... oops." Frisk smiled sheepishly. They were caught; they would have asked Papyrus about the puzzle. They slowed down, looking back.

Flowey burrowed underground, reappearing in front of them, causing Frisk to stop. "Please!" his annoyed expression changed to a friendly smile when he said please, almost as if the happy face would be able to convince them. One could even say it was similar to how a dog would stare up at someone with big eyes as they waited for table scraps to be thrown their way.

"It's not like I don't want to solve it! It's just gonna take me another hour to get it right, and I'm not walking in the woods in the dark again!" They said decisively. They crossed their arms and thought about it some more, "Here, if I can't solve the puzzle by the time I get out of the underground, I'll leave my notebook at the castle so I can't work on it. My memory isn't as good as yours, so I won't be able to repeat it to Papyrus." They tried to compromise.

"Alright, and this time I'll follow you to the exit! You can work on it on the way and stay in the throne room to finish it right?" He winked up at them playfully. He never had followed them to the exit of the underground, typically he would let them leave the ruins without following them out.... although this was mainly because he wanted to eat the snacks.

This time however... he would never admit it, but he didn't want to be alone for an entire month. The idea of it sent a shiver down his stalk. No, he didn't want to be alone yet. He refused to be bored for another entire month straight.

Frisk couldn't help it; they lit up, eyes widening a bit as they smiled hopefully. Flowey was going to follow them to the exit! If this wasn't a sign of progress, they didn't know what was! They quickly cleared their throat and kept their face straight.

"If you do that, maybe I won't mind walking home in the dark so much." They said, hiding their smile with their hand as they walked around and past Flowey. They swung their backpack around and took out their puzzle notebook and pen, then righted themselves so they could ponder over it as they walked. They have gone through this place so much that they could find the exit with their eyes closed if they wanted to.

"Really? That's great!" Flowey seemed excited, unaware that Frisk saw this as him taking a closer step to leaving the underground. He did notice the excitement in their eyes though... maybe they didn't want to leave him either?

Golly. They should just have told him! He would be happy to make sure they didn't leave... hehe... okay yeah he knew that wasn't why they were excited. But it was a nice thought!

He kept going underground and popping up in front of them. Frisk did look away from the puzzle at the sound of Flowey popping up in front of them, but returned to scribbling the rest of their thoughts down as he spoke, making sure to walk around his personal bubble. They wouldn’t guess the answer to the puzzle out loud, Flowey probably would confuse and frustrate them unless they were sure of their answer.

"Because it may take a loooong while. What about just staying the night here? That way if you don't finish it by the time you need to sleep then you can finish it in the morning. Asgore left some beds in New Home that you can sleep in."

“I’d love to, but I have to finish my homework and the rest of these projects before school starts...” They said slowly, distracted by the two topics their mind was preoccupied by, “Next month... I’ll work enough to have a sleepover. Promise.”

"What if I do your homework for ya? I bet it's not hard," Flowey offered. That was strange, he normally never offered to help Frisk out with their school work... or anything at all. The closest he ever got to helping was teasing them over anytime they made a mistake; watching and waiting for them to get it right.

"And besides, next month is so far away that I doubt you'll even remember!"

The closer they got to the end of the ruins the more Flowey wanted to convince them to stay. He didn't want to be by himself for an entire month. Couldn't Frisk visit weekly? Even daily? Of course, he wasn't about to suggest that. He didn't want to make it obvious that he enjoyed Frisk's company... then again he probably already did.

Not that he would admit it.

Frisk lowered the puzzle from their view for a moment, and paused to take a quick running start.

They hopped over the pitfall area in the ruins where they had met the group of froggits; they were older so they fast and agile enough to do so. They waited for Flowey to follow.

“I’ll bring my homework over next time, too, then! I thought you weren’t interested in that stuff.” They called, “Why do you want to help me out?”

He popped back up next to them, "Well golly aren't we friends?" He winked playfully up at them, "Besides, if doing your homework will make you stay and finish that puzzle, then why shouldn't I help you?"

He would never admit that he just didn't want to be alone.

The underground's emptiness was starting to get to him. He wasn't sure how much longer he could handle being all by himself, especially when Frisk kept visiting him over and over again.  
Why did they visit? Did they actually care about him? Perhaps, they wanted to make sure he didn't try to follow in Chara's footsteps and be gone for good?

…

On a different note, he badly wanted to go back and get the snacks before the bugs in the ruins made their way to them.

Especially with Toriel's pie... he'd have to make some sort of excuse to get them without Frisk knowing. But... how?

So, that was it. Flowey really did want them to stay. But why?

Frisk couldn't really focus on the puzzle anymore as they thought about what to say as they kept walking forward. "Flowey, I could stay longer, I can even bring my work here- but I've been under the impression that you want to keep your existence a secret..." They paused, "Next time, I could bring my co-workers with, like Papyrus... then we'd stay a little longer, too. But then I would be giving you less attention!" They sighed. They were set in talking about next month; changing plans so quickly wasn't going to work out well.

Flowey frowned, "Don't bring anyone else down here. I'll dust them," he burrowed underground to pop out in front of him with a playful smile, although his voice didn't sound like he was joking, "It's already annoying that you disrupt my peace and quiet as is! Hehe, but some books would be nice to pass the time with. Most the books that fall in the garbage dump are missing pages. Boy is it rather frustrating."

He wasn't sure if he would dust any monsters that came here, but he wanted Frisk to think he would. He was still a danger to everybody he used to care about, which was one of the main reasons he didn't want to go to the surface. Well, that and the fact he didn't deserve a happy ending, not with everything that he had done.

It was better for him to stay underground. He couldn't hurt anyone while isolated here. Well, anybody but Frisk. Not that it mattered since they could reset. If he hurt them then they'd just come back so having them here wasn't the worst thing to happen.

"Fine, fine." Frisk said. It was worth a shot asking. Their friends trusted them, but one of these days their friends were likely going to end up getting curious and following them when they visited Flowey.

"Soon our puzzle club is going to become book club." They remarked as they entered what was Toriel's house. It was really dusty now. They zipped up their jacket to prepare to go out in the cold as they walked down the stairs. They then re-focused on Flowey's puzzle.

"Who said it was a club?" Flowey asked, rolling his eyes while holding his playful smile, "Because I doubt every time you come down here you'll bring books. You'll get bored of that eventually!" He paused outside of Toriel's house, "Hey Frisk! Snowdin is a bit cold, so I'll meet you in Waterfall. Wait for me there okay?"

Frisk chuckled at Flowey's denial. "Alright! I'll wait by the entrance."

Flowey burrowed underground... however he decided to head back to Chara's gravesite first. He wanted to eat that damned pie and this was his only chance. They walked through the empty land of Snowdin, only looking up from their notebook when they had to cross a bridge or had to slide across some ice. After passing the first echo flower, they sat down and put their notebook on their lap to scribble down their thoughts.

"It's one of those puzzles where there's no solution, isn't it?" They grumbled to an Echo Flower.

_"It's one of those puzzles where there's no solution, isn't it?"_ The Echo Flower repeated back.

"Unless this is like the weird imaginary math Sans uses." They muttered, frowning at the notebook and then continuing to write. They were going to be late at this rate, and probably tired tomorrow, but this wasn't their first sleepless night and it was worth it if Flowey was following them to the exit. Unless he decided to ditch them...

Flowey popped back up next to the pie, hungrily devouring it. He hummed out happily, swaying side to side in joy. He wanted to eat the others, but they'd probably think he ditched them if he stayed to long. Besides, the aftertaste of the sweet pie would be ruined. He could leave the others for later. He burrowed back underground and popped back up in the entrance to Waterfall.

Hm? Frisk was waiting for them. That was a relief... they could have easily ditched him. Wait, why would that matter? He didn't care if he ditched them!

"Howdy Frisk! Miss me?" He playfully winked at them before giving a joyful smile, unaware that some butterscotch had stuck to one of his bottom petals.

Hey, it's kinda hard to be a clean eater when you're a flower. Don't judge.

"Ah!" Frisk jumped when Flowey popped up all of a sudden. They quickly regained their composure, "Flowey! This puzzle! It's impossible, isn't... it..." They trailed off when they saw some pie on one of his petals, but regained themselves yet again, "Isn't it! There isn't a solution!"

They got up, trying not to stare. Don't laugh... don't laugh! Even Flowey could be clumsy, it seemed like... plus this proved he DID eat at least some of the snacks they brought! They kept going on ahead, putting their face in the notebook to try to hide a delighted chuckle.

"Of course there's a solution," Flowey pouted a bit, "Only that smiley trashbag would make a puzzle that was impossible to beat. You're just crappy at puzzles!" Flowey paused, staring at them in annoyance as they put the book in front of their face to hide it.

Were they smiling? Were they embarrassed?

Gosh, he could never predict what they were going to do.

"Agh! Sans is a nightmare! I went up the stairs in the dark one time at his and Papyrus's house only to find out I was going up a dang escalator when the lights came on!!!" Frisk complained loudly, and then the dam broke and they burst into wheezy laughter.

_Oh gosh, when he realizes he's going to be so mad! No, no, stay cool, stay cool Frisk-_ They thought, lightly slapping themselves in the face with the notebook a few times before they regained their composure.

Flowey looked confused and annoyed at the same time. What was so funny about being tricked by Sans? No, it had to be something else... but what!?

"Your puzzle doesn't work because..." Frisk started listing off the reasons why as they walked through Waterfall, the frustration at being stuck somehow quickly calming them down from their hysterics.

Flowey narrowed his eyes. Golly they still weren't thinking outside the box enough. Hmm.

He then popped up in front of them, smiling brightly, "Golly, how about I give you a hint then? But only if you tell me why you were laughing so much!" His expression changed to one of smug annoyance, "No one finds that trash bag's jokes that funny."

The bit of butterscotch was still on the bottom of his petal, however the damp atmosphere seemed to have gotten some of it to come off. There was still enough to notice however.

Frisk considered the offer. If they told him, he would probably get mad and not give them a hint at all! But if they didn't he'd get mad that they didn't tell him!

"... You got something on your face." They decided to say, aiming for somewhere in the middle. As if on cue, they entered a dock-like area from a hole in the wall, "I'll meetcha by the crystallized cheese!"

Flowey froze as soon as they said that, a look of horror on his face as he realized exactly what they meant. Shit, that means they knew he ate the-

  
He ducked into the ground, reappearing where there was water so he could look at his reflection.

…

His face went red from embarrassment at seeing the bit of food clinging to his bottom petal, deciding to grow a vine to clean it off. After he got the butterscotch off his petal he sighed, and then grumbled in annoyance. He didn't hesitate to go where Frisk had told him to meet them, a pissed off expression clear on his face, "You couldn't have told me earlier!?" He spat out, unaware that his face was still a bit pink from being embarrassed.

As they reached the end of the docks, Frisk took one look at Flowey and slowly put their notebook over their smile, another shake of silent laughter going through them. Flowey always kept up this persona of always being in control, of being a real tough guy. They had never seen Flowey embarrassed before!

Flowey grumbled a bit. Damnit. Frisk would never let him hear the end of this either would they?

"Some things aren't meant to be known." They said mysteriously, but that mood was broken by some chuckles bubbling out of them as they walked around Flowey and up ahead.

"Well the hint to the puzzle is one of those things that aren't meant to be known either!" Flowey retorted, burrowing underground and appearing in front of them. Not in their direct line of walking though, just enough so they could be seen. He forced himself to go back to a cheery smile, "And that means you'll never figure it out!" Ha, that would show them. They would never solve the puzzle. If that wasn't a good amount of revenge then he didn't know what was.

Although, they had gotten close to solving it. It really wasn't hard.

He told them they had 3 starting pieces, and they had to get to the end. He never said all 3 had to get to the end... if they had realized that then they'd likely have solved it by now.

Okay they technically did at one point, but Flowey kept his mouth shut as he watched them restart it to try again, watching as they thought they failed it.

Getting all 3 to the end was impossible, which was probably why Frisk was struggling so hard in the first place. But hey, the instructions were written down. Not his fault they got tricked by the directions, that was part of the puzzle after all!

Frisk felt like they were so close to solving this darn puzzle, but something was blocking it! They stared at their notebook, went over Flowey's hints, wrote down Flowey's recent hint, and made an annoyed noise.

They paused. Another gap! They put their notebook and pen in the backpack and looked to Flowey, taking a few steps away from him. "Watch out, I'm gonna throw this to the other side." With that, they spun around and threw their backpack to the other side of the gap. It just barely made it. Luckily the ground was soft, so usually this method didn't break the chips they brought with before... too much.

They took another running start but the mud didn't provide a lot of traction. They landed straight into the glowing water and swam to the other side.

Flowey chuckled. Gap was to wide now that the duck was gone huh?

He burrowed underground, meeting them on the other side, "Hehe, You got something on your face there," a smug look appeared on his face as he spoke, quoting Frisk to taunt them about falling into the water, "Golly, if only you brought a towel to get up all that water!" Frisk stuck their tongue at Flowey. He paused, and then glanced towards their bag, actually wondering if they had. He didn't know what they brought after all.

He was tempted to soak the bag regardless. The only reason he hadn't was because the notebook with the puzzle was inside of it.

Frisk quickly rushed to their bag when he looked at it meaningfully.

"You aren't erasing my progress!" They protested playfully, and put on the backpack. They squeezed some water from their shirt as they continued onward, and shook their hands to dry them. They did actually have a towel, but it was in a plastic bag- used up from their journey to the Ruins.

"Aw come on I just wanted to peek inside!" Flowey winked at them, as if that was the complete and honest truth. Frisk gave Flowey a suspicious squint.

"I'll dry off in Hotland." They said, entering a very dimly-lit area with glowing flowers, reeds, and crystals. Ah, they couldn't even read the notebook in here! They kept to a glowing pathway they made during their months visits.

Flowey quickly followed after them.

... They were getting through the underground at a rather steady pace weren't they?

Before he knew it... they'd be gone. They'd be out of the underground, leaving him all by himself. He would be so bored... he wouldn't have anything to do for an entire month. Of course, going to the surface wasn't an option, he refused for it to be one.

But... maybe he could satisfy his boredom another way? Come on Flowey! You can figure this out. Surely this solution was easier than any of the puzzles handed out?

He had until they reached New Home. He still had time.

Flowey popped up in front of them, "Don't you just love how everything glows in waterfall?" He inquired, "These glowing mushrooms sprout almost everywhere here. They need lots of water to grow, so they're only found here, isn't that neat?" Some small talk wouldn't hurt for now, at least until they got to an area that Frisk could attempt the puzzle again.

"Recently I've been seeing a lot more grow around here..." Frisk commented, noting the way there was about an inch of water around their boots, which sank into the mud "The water level is getting higher, I think." The echo flowers around them picked up their conversation, making the echo in the cave more prevalent.

"Yeah, it's likely because no one is drinking the water anymore. Waterfall used to supply the whole underground with running water... and now that everyone is gone it's just been building up a bit," he paused in thought for a moment, before following after Frisk, "I bet in a couple years you won't even be able to walk down here! You'll have to swim!”

“Oh, that might be true. I don’t mind swimming! I’ll bring scuba gear if I have to.” Frisk said.

Flowey raised an eyebrow. Well, they still were DETERMINED that's for sure.

Soon, they came to a large spikey opening-the entrance to Hotland. Frisk took off their coat and tied it around their waist, and then took out their notebook again.

The sign for 'Welcome to Hotland!' wasn't on.

"It's kinda weird. The CORE isn't even being run, but the elevators still work." Frisk commented, still in small-talk mode as they turned their attention to the puzzle. Even with the maze that Hotland was, they knew their steps back by heart.

Flowey listened to them speak, glancing up at the sign that no longer worked. It was true that the core wasn't operational anymore, but that didn't mean the elevators didn't have power. Alphys generator made sure of that much. He didn't comment about the elevators though. So long as they weren't constantly used they likely had 3 or 4 more months of power… Huh. That means Frisk wouldn't be able to visit them in the ruins after so long, not unless they powered the generator in Alphys lab. But that's okay! He didn't want Frisk visiting him.... he just liked not being bored. The only reason he was okay with them visiting was because without them he wouldn't have anything to do.

...

And they were going to leave again. What if they stopped working sooner than he estimated?... no. He had to make sure they didn't leave. But how? He would think of it along the way.

Frisk focused on walking and thinking about Flowey’s puzzle. They stood on a vent. Nothing happened. They stomped on it a few times. It made a clattering sound, but no air was there to lift them to the next vent.

“Not again!” They grumbled, and retreated, looking around for a save point. Luckily there was one close by. They reached out and SAVED. Okay, there was no stopping them from getting across these vents now!

... Huh the vents weren't working. Guess Flowey would have to-

And hey why were they bouncing in place? He looked confused, but only for a moment as he realized what they planned.

"Frisk!?" Flowey's eyes widened in shock as they took a running start to jump onto a vent, actually surprised the action caused it to turn to life. It came to life just as they were readying themselves to jump-blowing them to the next, and the next, and they squeaked as they somersaulted in the air. They landed gracefully on their butt.

“Stupid long limbs and vents making me clumsy.” They grumbled.

Flowey couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Ahahaha!!! How many times do you do that when going to the ruins??" He paused, snickering a bit, "Golly, you just need to bring bridge supplies if those things stop working. Falling in lava isn't going to be too pleasant if ya miss!"

He didn't cross yet, still chuckling a bit at the fact that Frisk fell right on their rump.

“I haven’t missed any yet!” Frisk said confidently. Okay, there was one time they slipped and had to latch onto a vent pipe and climb back up... yeah, they weren’t going to mention that. “I can probably build a bridge with all the spare parts lying around...” They said thoughtfully, and stood up to brush themselves off. Not that it mattered, they were really muddy anyway. A few chunks of dried mud fell off their clothes. “There’s a lot of elevators, so I’ll meet you at New Home!” Frisk called to Flowey. And so they moved on ahead, notebook in hand. They pressed the elevator button and it took a bit to open. They wondered if someone else had been using it, or it had lost power, but it eventually opened.

Flowey chuckled a bit. He was about to ask them to come back and help him across, when he noticed they opened the elevator.

Eh, he knew a way through Alphys lab to get to new home. He wasn't about to risk making any of the pillars collapse with his vines.

Wait.

Of course.

The mouth of the cave. The exit…

He could cause it to cave in, he could send his vines through the walls, forcing the rocks to become unstable!

He could ensure he never got bored again!

Frisk was always fun to play with after all. He doubted he could ever get bored with them around. It would be so much fun!

He could... "Wait for me there!" He called back, a mischievous look playing in his eyes.

“Got it!” Frisk called back, entering the elevator. It was a quick trip up, and then they walked along a pathway to Mettaton’s hotel. They uncapped their last water bottle- the heat was starting to get to them! They walked into the core and took the usual elevator to New Home.

He ducked into the ground... but he didn't head to New Home. No, he planned to pass it up and head straight for the exit. It had to be closed before Frisk got there, before Frisk knew he did it.

Although, it would be a bit obvious wouldn't it? Oh well. He could always lie, it wouldn't be too big of a deal. Either way, they would be locked down there... and if he knew Frisk? They probably saved before risking that vent jump, or at least sometime while down in the underground…

Hopefully at least. The last thing he needed was for them to reset out of the underground.

When Frisk got out they looked around for Flowey. Upon not seeing him there, they would sit down outside the elevator and work in earnest to solve his puzzle. Maybe Flowey was giving weird hints? They wondered what would happen if they tried this puzzle over with more than three starting points in mind.

They worked on that until Flowey got back, too lost in their work to keep track of time. Once they worked on something, someone had to interrupt them or they’d work on it until it was finished-it was a bad habit, likely a side effect of their determination, but that’s what their phone alarms and friends were for!

Flowey popped up just before the exit, pausing to stare outside at the setting sun.

This was it... once he did this there was no going back. Unlike Frisk, he didn't have the power to reset and save anymore... so... here goes nothing.

He shot vines out from the ground, moving them to climb up the walls of the cave and finally towards the ceiling. They stretched to just about their max length, clutching onto nearby rocks and cracks within the soil they traveled along.

For a moment, it would seem the vines helped support the mouth of the cave, but only for a moment.

Flowey gave an evil toothy grin, moving his vines left and right, tightening them against a rock just to let go. He had to make the area unstable, so that the exit would do the rest. It would have the honor of trapping them both underground. The exit started to have rock after rock fall from the ceiling, rumbling.

Thunder echoed across New Home. Frisk vaguely remembered the monsters being terrified during their first lightning storm, and they had to work with Papyrus to calm everyone down. The reason monsters feared this sound was because it sounded exactly like...

A cave-in.

Frisk looked up. Thunderstorms did not happen underground. A sense of urgency leapt up inside them. They got up and ran to the next elevator, leaving their backpack behind, and pressed the button so it could bring them to the Last corridor. From there, they ran towards where they could hear the thunder, the rocks settling down, barely giving the golden hallway a glance- they were much faster than they were when they were younger. That location... their mind wasn’t playing tricks on them, right?!


	2. 'A Sleepover'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welp, how are you gonna get out of this mess, Frisk?

Flowey watched the cave-in with glee, before ducking into the ground and slowly making his way towards New Home... that was until he heard footsteps from above in the judgement hall. Hmmm now was a good time to pop up right? He popped up, watching Frisk dart towards the throne room. Hah, they couldn't just stay put could they?

He went back underground, trying to catch up with them before they saw the cave-in. Wait, where was their bag? Golly the sound from the cave-in must have terrified them, huh? Popping back up in the throne room he would decide to call out to them, "Frisk! Wait up!"

As Frisk rushed through the throne room, hopping neatly through the golden flowers although they were in a hurry, they heard Flowey. They stopped in a few stomps and looked back to him, a frown on their face.  
  
“Flowey? Are you alright?!” They called, hopping over to him through the flowers again and CHECKing him over rather worriedly, “I think there was a cave-in.” They explained.

"Golly, a cave-in? That doesn't sound to fun!" Flowey faked a worried expression, his stats remained more or less the same, however his HP seemed slightly different... and there was a slight alteration with the check message.

Atk: 16  
Def: 10  
Hp: 19/20  
 _*He doesn't care about you. Now he won't be lonely._

A rock had hit him from the cave-in before he left the area, but of course he wasn't going to tell Frisk that.

"Do you think that means the exit got blocked off? Boy, would that be unfortunate for you!"

Frisk focused on the uneven numbers on Flowey's HP bar. 1 HP wasn't that bad... but it still made them re-examine him. There was a slight scratch on the top of his top rightmost petal, indicating where he had taken damage. He had to have been hurt somewhat by the cave-in. They knew he'd never admit such a blunder, so it was the conclusion that they came to.  
  
"I'll go check. Stay away from the cave-in, more rocks might fall down!" They warned, trotting out of the throne room to check the area where they had fought Asgore in before, keeping their eyes on the ceiling. They didn't care so much if rocks caved in on them- they would prefer that they didn't, but they had to know if the entrance was gone.

Flowey frowned a bit, "Then why are you going over to it!?" He ignored their request to stay away, burrowing into the ground and following after them.

He popped up in front of the pile of rocks, "Frisk, it seems the exit caved in..." he paused, glancing to the pile of rocks that didn't let even a ray of light shine through them, "I don't think there's a way out anymore..."

Frisk looked the rocks up and down, and crossed their arms. Hm. Their previous panic seemed to fade at the stillness and quietness when Flowey was done talking- when nothing was moving, there was no danger was what their instincts had been trained to tell them. They took a breath in, out, and considered the situation.  
  
Was there another exit? Yes, actually, there were openings here and there. The barrier wasn't in place, so they could just climb out. Were they able to climb out? They were NOT the greatest rock climber, unfortunately. They weren't like Undyne, who could probably leap out of one of the skylights in New Home. They would need to make some equipment for it unless they wanted to fall to their deaths. They glanced at the ceiling, and walked back out to the Throne Room since they didn't want Flowey to be hit by a stray rock or something; he seemed to insist on following them everywhere.  
  
"You're so negative." They said with a small laugh in their voice after that uncomfortably long pause, "You know how stubborn I can be!" They were walking at the pace from before when they were traveling with Flowey, heading back to get their backpack the long way, "Guess the sleepover has to come early. You ever have a pillow fight, Flowey?"

"I did when I was a goat, not sure how pillow fights work as a flower though," he shrugged, however he did look extremely excited, "And don't be so confident! I'm not going to let my best friend risk hurting themself to get out... I'm sure someone will come to get you out eventually right?" He moved closer to them, smiling extremely happily... probably with a hunt of obsession in his eyes as well.

...

It was almost as if he didn't want them to leave.

...

Well, that's because he didn't... and he was going to make sure of it. Sure there were some holes here and there that someone could potentially climb out of but... all he had to do was make sure they didn't climb anything right? He could follow them everywhere!

And if someone did come? He would dust them, forcing Frisk to want to reset…

Yes, that seemed like a plan.

Frisk would never let anyone stay dead when they thought they could save them right? Why else would they keep visiting him...? They probably thought they could bring 'Asriel' back somehow.

Frisk _knew_ that smile.  
  
"Yes..." They said somewhat numbly. They kept their same pace, looking away from Flowey and out to the city, their expression guarded. The odd CHECK message change... the way he got hurt... the way he was wording himself... that smile. That cave in was intentional. Maybe they had known, but been in denial about it; they hadn't run, they didn't feel scared that the ceiling might fall on them.  
  
"I'm sure you could hold a pillow between your fangs." Frisk said, smiling again, "Might rip the pillow and get feathers everywhere, though."

"Worth a shot! I don't mind destroying a few pillows if it means having some fun!" Flowey said happily, "There should be some pillows in New Home, as well as some beds. Asgore didn't move anything from Asriel and Chara's room. Apparently he didn't want to tamper with the room. Do you want to stay there? There's 2 beds, so I'm sure you can pick whichever one is most comfortable," Flowey ducked into the ground, popping up in front of them, "There are lots of old toys with my dust on them. I don't mind if you play with them though if you find any of them interesting."

He thought about the toys he mentioned for a bit. Asgore and Toriel had scooped up as much dust as they could of his and performed a funeral for him by spreading it on his toys. Hah, as if those things had been his favorite. They really didn't know him all that well did they?

... Okay some of the toys had been his favorite at a time, but now they were anything but interesting. Rather boring to say the least.

"Yeah, I was planning on staying at the castle." Frisk said, doing their usual manner of walking around Flowey, "Eh, I don't really like toys. Thanks for the offer, though." The thought of touching dusty toys made them wring their hands. They could feel dust that wasn't Flowey's on their hands. They knew it quite distinctly.  
  
Anyway, they quickly stopped the nervous gesture to fold their hands behind themselves instead as they walked the long way through New Home to grab their backpack.

"And ya know," Flowey sounded more thrilled than normal, "I guess I can give you a hint to that puzzle once you get your stuff.... unless you don't want any hints that is," he stuck his tongue out playfully, continuing to pop up in front of them just to get in their way. He wasn't sure why but he found it amusing that they walked around him each time instead of stepping over him, "And then we can try that pillow fight you wanted to do right?"

“I have a feeling that one of your hints is misleading me. So no. No more hints.” Despite the situation, Frisk couldn’t help but smirk for real, “I think pillow fights are supposed to be spontaneous? Kind of like a food fight? I’ve never actually had one...” They said.  
  
They climbed up the stairs, into Asgore’s house.  
  
_Toriel, how do I get out of the ruins?_ They remember themselves asking... for who knew how many times throughout their resets. _Pfff, do I have to actually FIGHT Flowey again to try to get out? What a pickle, Frisk! You know how stubborn he is!_  
  
They’d SPARE him, of course. _Okay, stay cool Frisk, you just have to take this one step at a time._ They thought.

"I would never mislead you," Flowey lied, giving a fake look of disbelief, "but I can make due with spontaneous fighting!" He then smiled, ducking into the ground when Frisk entered the house, before breaking a wooden plank inside with his vines so he could pop his head into the house, "So Frisk what do you want to do first? Work on the puzzle? Ya know, cause you're staying I might as well give you a hint even if you don't want it," he stuck his tongue out playfully at them, "You're free to ignore it though if ya want!"

Flowey couldn't take it anymore. Frisk was likely not going to solve it on their own at this rate. He had to tell them they solved it once before and that he just kept his mouth shut about it. Maybe that would let them know what they were doing wrong? He hoped so. After all, it didn't matter how long it took for them to finish it anymore...  
  
They were going to stay there regardless. So why worry about when they were going to finish it?

“Well, if I don’t have a choice then,” Frisk said, and then covered their ears, singing terribly, “Lalalalalalala-“ as they walked to the front door. Flowey scowled as they started the infamous 'lalala', "You can't keep that up forever!" He retorted as loud as he could.

“Flowey, wait here, my bag’s at the front elevator. It’s faster if I run to get it. I’ll be back.” They called suddenly, bouncing from foot to foot somewhat. They were pretty fast with all the jogging they usually did with their friends outside. The thought of their little monster jog group made their heart melt a little.  
  
Frisk had also left their phone in their backpack, and they had to tell their friends that they were going to be late coming back. They didn’t want Toriel to panic!

Flowey paused. No... they were going to get their stuff right?

Or... maybe they were going to try and leave?

He couldn't allow that. He knew where their belongings were so... he gave them a giddy smile before simply flat out ignoring them and going underground.  
Frisk would likely beat him there, but at least he could pop up shortly afterwards. He may be able to move through the soil rather quickly, but if Frisk went full speed he wouldn't be able to keep up.

He wasn't even concerned about them calling for help either. If anyone was stupid enough to rescue them then he would make sure they paid the ultimate price =}

So it was a race, then? Frisk bolted down the corridor. A part of them relished in the rush of running so fast- maybe one day they'd be able to catch up with Papyrus and Undyne!  
  
They reached the backpack first, and paused for a moment to swing a strap over their shoulder. They looked up at the skylights in an evaluating manner, getting ready to trot back.  
  
They wouldn't try to get out today. Well, probably. If a hole out opened up right in front of them they wouldn't complain about it. They took out their phone and started to check their messages.

??:12 Toriel. 2 missed calls.  
3 hours prior:  
Text message  
> "Frisk I hope you are okay. I made some brownies for when you get back. Love you my child. See you soon.  
  
10min ago:  
> "Frisk are you okay? You're normally home by now. You didn't forget where home is, did you? Sans and Papyrus showed up without warning. They wanted to see you. When will you be home?"  
  
8 minutes ago:  
> "Papyrus wanted me to tell you that he doesn't want to suffer from me and San's puns for much longer. Apparently he needs his human friend to protect him from us lol!"  
  
5 minutes ago:  
> "Oh dear, I didn't change my clock for daylight savings time. You'll probably be home within the next hour won't you my child? I'm sorry for worrying so much. I managed to save you some brownies but they likely won't be as warm when you get here."

Flowey popped up next to Frisk while they checked their phone. Damnit they beat him to their bag... not that it really mattered, they hadn't tried to escape so it didn't matter if he was faster or not, "Howdy Frisk! Hope you don't mind too much that I followed," he smiled happily up to them. They seemed to be checking their phone. He wondered what they were doing

"Howdy Flowey." Frisk said automatically as they started typing out a message back. They started walking back, texting on their phone.  
  
>"Hey mom! I'm okay, spending some extra time at a friend's house, we're having a sleepover. Text me if you need anything!"  
  
_And how long is this 'sleepover' going to last?_ They thought wryly, shutting the screen off and putting it into their pocket, _Hey, chill. I said I was going to take this one step at a time._  
  
_Well, suit yourself Frisk. I do hope you do not get wrapped up in this 'vacation' of yours._  
  
Conversations with themselves in their head was pretty normal, especially when they were stressed out. They hoped they didn’t start talking to themselves out loud. Flowey would get a kick out of that, that was for sure.

Frisk's phone would buzz not too much later.

>Very well Frisk. Ttyl. Sans tells me that means "talk to you later". Hopefully I'm not messing up this texting as it is called. I'm still fairly new to it lol. Did you need me to pick you up in the morning though? I'm not sure exactly where you are though.  
  
"Texting someone for help out of here?" Flowey inquired, not even trying to avoid the topic, "Golly, I'm surprised you haven't even asked little ol' me yet!" He followed after them, even if he didn't plan on helping them out, he could at least tease them for not asking him right?

Heh, he could even pretend to try and help but just make the cave-in worse. That would work, and it would be interesting to see how Frisk would respond.

"Yeah, you wanna grab me with a vine and throw me through one of the holes like one of those hacky-sack games?" Frisk instantly deadpanned as they read their phone again, and then snickered at their own joke. They were the absolute worst.  
  
It was nice to get a text from Mom, it fueled their determination. A light in the darkness was always there, and perhaps the darkness wasn't as dark as it seemed. It was going to be a battle of a new kind to get out of here, and they didn't intend to lose.  
  
>I'll find my way back. Thank you.  
  
Oh no, too sincere. Try for something more casual.  
  
>Nty, ttyl! :) <3  
  
They decided on that, and put their phone away again. "Sorry Flowey, I'm popular." They said with a Mettaton-like flip of their hair, "I'm gonna find a room-" They just _barely_ resisted spelling 'TTYL' at the end of their sentence. Barely. They went straight towards Asgore's previous house.

Flowey didn't even hesitate to grin as Frisk suggested that... following them until they went into Asgore's room. He broke another floorboard so he could pop his head inside.  
He didn't care about anything else they said…

No, he wanted them to eat their words. Once inside Asgore's room he grew a vine from the ground and grabbed their ankle with it, "Oh if you want to be thrown then I can throw you... I might miss though. Haven't thrown anyone in a long time..." his face morphed to a dark fanged grin. He wanted to look as threatening as possible.

Frisk stopped and tugged on the vine, more of a testing tug than a struggle.  
  
Now, as fun and adrenaline pumping as being slapped into the ceiling like one of those sticky hands would be, Frisk did NOT want to encourage violence of any kind. Even as a joke! And especially with Flowey!  
  
"Nope." They said firmly, no sarcasm as they crossed their arms in an x-formation, "No way."  
  
They'd try to circle their foot out of the vine to head towards the bed, but it wouldn’t work.

Flowey giggled, tightening the vine as tight as he could, some thorns sprouting to poke into them, "But Frisk... weren't you the one to suggest being thrown? Golly, I was only being helpful!" He playfully winked at them, his face morphing into a happy smile, "Getting cold feet?" He looked at the ankle he had trapped, watching as they attempted to get their foot free. He didn't even care if he started to cut the circulation off for a bit, he found this amusing to say the least. Hehe, if Frisk ever did get out, they'd realize he could never go to the surface. They'd stop pestering him, they'd... never come back.

Ow! Frisk didn't tug at the vine when it grew thorns, but looked rather grumpy.  
  
"Oh, haha, you're very funny Flowey. That's not what I meant and you..." Frisk started off sarcastically, but trailed off when they saw his expression.

Flowey would be... alone and bored again... shoot, even if he freed them now they wouldn't return right?   
  
His grip loosened ever so slightly for a moment, his smile changing to an expressionless flat line as he thought about being abandoned without even Frisk returning to keep him company. Although just for clarification, his eyes remained their default way. He wasn't trying to mimic Frisk after all.  
  
He knew Frisk wasn't stupid. They probably didn't ask for his help because they thought he caused the cave-in…

Meaning…

He had even more of a reason to make sure they never left him alone and bored again.

Now, usually Frisk liked that weird game they played where they danced around each other's feelings and thoughts, but it could only last for so long before someone got lost.  
  
"Hey," They said gently, but trying to still be casual, crouching to Flowey to look at his face closer, a slight worried frown on their own face, "What are you thinking about?" They were trying to be direct, but not confrontational. Trying to understand.

Flowey decided to release the vine that held their ankle when they bent down in front of them.  
His expression changed back to a giddy smile, as if he hadn't been in thought at all, "Golly, why are you worrying about what I'm thinking? Shouldn't you be worried about the fact I could have slapped you against the ceiling or something?" He winked playfully at them, "You're still an idiot Frisk. Worrying about me is the biggest mistake you've ever made!"

He wasn't wrong about that, at least that was what his thought was on the manner. If Frisk didn't worry about Flowey then they'd never be trapped down here.

They would be up on the surface with their friends, fulfilling their happy ending without anything major to worry about.

How sad will everyone be when they realize Frisk wasn't coming back...? Or, rather, would they never get to that point? Would Frisk keep resetting, over and over again, forcing them to relive the next days of their life, wondering where their pacifist angel went?

This was exciting. He couldn't wait to see the end result!

Frisk wasn’t so playful, their gaze on him serious. They rested their hands on their knees. Yeah, if they didn’t ask him about it now they felt like they would never truly get the chance again.  
  
There was silence after Flowey spoke where Frisk’s retorts and quips would usually were. They were considering him.  
  
“You say that a lot. That I’m going to regret worrying about you.” Frisk repeated, “But this time it actually feels like you mean it... Is it because you caused the cave-in?”

Flowey stared at them intently with his happy gaze, trying to ignore the awkward atmosphere that likely was surrounding the two of them.  
  
He didn't blink the entire silence, awaiting for Frisk to speak first.  
  
... hehe, he was right, they weren't a complete idiot. Guess it wouldn't hurt to tell them now what he planned right? After all, they'd find out either way... And he wasn't about to tell them what he was really thinking about. That he was worried that if they got out he would never see them again.  
  
His expression changed to a bit of a smug smile, "Hehe... I meant it every time I said it... what makes you think this was the first time that it mattered? Because of the cave-in?" his face turned into a dark fanged smile, "Because yes I did cause it. You're going to stay down here Frisk. You're not going to leave ever again.... hehe," His face would then morph to his giant toothy evil grin, "You keep coming, and leaving... and I got so bored....." he paused, his face morphing to one of faked sadness, "Boy, you don't know what it's like to be all by yourself for an entire month now do you? Nothing new to do, no new games, no new books... everything the exact same thing every day..." He smiled a bit sheepishly, "And you can't do anything about it, you can't end it, because someone out there keeps coming back to visit you, and you know that would just make them reset everyone back to the beginning, to when everyone was trapped underground... and undo everyone's happy ending... Because you're to DETERMINED to let anyone you care about stay dead for good right?"

Flowey's face went back to his darkly fanged smile, "And lets not forget that you have the power to save and reset still.... You could have came back every day... saved at the beginning, and then towards the end of the day reset and leave. You know I can remember the resets.... but instead? You chose to only come by every month... **_only once a month!_** " he cackled a bit, not even listening to them speak if they tried to butt in at any point. He was more or less ranting now.

" **You're so determined to save me when I can't be saved, and when I say no to coming back to the surface with you, then you just act like you're here to keep me company. You wanted me to feel this way, to become so bored that I had _no option BUT_** **to follow you out...** " He grinned wider at Frisk, his fanged mouth still present, "Isn't that right? To bad you didn't see this happening! Because no matter how you try to get out, I'll block the exit, I'll kill you and make you reset... if anyone comes to save you? Well.. golly-" his face morphed back into a playful smile, winking and sticking his tongue out for a split moment, "-Then I'll just have to gain some LOVE now won't I?"

There was a rule of what to do when your someone was mad and you wanted to avoid escalating this situation. Frisk had it trained into them when they made contact with humans again with Papyrus, and it was pretty simple: 'Let them rant'. Even if what was said was hurtful. They didn't interrupt Flowey.  
  
... And how could they, when he was confirming almost every single negative thought they'd had since they made visiting him a part of their schedule?  
  
They thought they were doing a good thing by visiting him. They thought they weren't wanted there, so they only visited once a month. They did their best not to ask more than once per session to go to the surface, they told him what was going on on the surface, they brought him surface things to sorta-playfully-apologize for visiting-  
  
But everything they'd been doing...  
  
"I-I've been hurting you that much?" Frisk asked, their voice breaking, tears welling up in their eyes. It was a rhetorical question. Flowey might not be always truthful and hid himself behind many masks but Frisk knew that when you hurt someone, you couldn't just decide that you didn't. They opened their mouth again, closed it. No. They couldn't blame Flowey for this. They were just as selfish as they thought they were, they were...  
  
"I really am an idiot... haha..." They grimaced, shaking their head and wiping their face on their sleeve, "I'll think of something, give me a sec..."

Flowey didn't care that tears swelled in Frisk's eyes, that their voice broke as they spoke.  
He listened as they called themself an idiot... and then how they had the nerve to say they would think of something…

His expression turned to one of an angry annoyance, "You want to think of something? Think of what!?" Had the things he said not been true? No, they were the only thing that made sense. Why else was Frisk doing what they did?

Besides, even if his guess had been wrong then at least it made Frisk feel guilty.

"Stop trying before you hurt yourself more," he growled out, "This is all your fault. There was a time when I wanted to get out of here, wanted to watch as monsters learned that the surface was kill or be killed and they all turned to dust... but after you SAVED me and reminded me of what being whole again was like..." he paused, face turning into a more or less forced smile, "I had this idea engraved into me to never leave the underground, that if I did...." he looked away from them and off to the side, "That I'd just ruin everybody's happy ending..." he then turned his attention back to Frisk, smiling joyfully once more, "But boy, did you keep testing me with that didn't cha? Honestly I had hoped you forgot about me. I didn't want to turn back into the soulless killer I had been, but..." his face morphed to a darkly fanged smile once more, "You just had to ignore my one dying request. To forget about me... so this is the result..." it hadn't been the only thing he had asked, the other had been to not tell Toriel or Asgore that he was alive, and who he used to be... because it would just make them sad.... but now he didn't care. He was back to being the flower who just wanted to see what was going to happen next. The only difference was his final wish to himself being engraved into his very being. To not go back to the surface.  
He didn't care about anyone up there. He didn't care if he hurt anybody... but for some reason or another he didn't want to hurt the people he used to care about. He wanted them to keep their happy ending.

It was like he was satisfied with the ending to a book, setting it down and not wanting a sequel made.... only for Frisk to came along and make a sequel without asking. He became the main character in their story, the plant that couldn't feel being brought back to the surface so that he, too, may become happy like the rest.

He wouldn't allow that story to have a happy ending.

They were staying down here for the rest of eternity. Frisk was still fun to play with, still entertaining... and he couldn't hurt them for good so it didn't matter.

Besides, if they gave up, and returned the power of resets to him... well.. golly he could have a lot of fun with that.

…

He hoped they just chose to reset again and again, forever.

He smiled happily and winked once more,

"But boy, if you want to help me out then just stay down here forever, and never leave!"

Frisk rocked on their feet, before deciding to sit back against the side of Asgore's bed with their backpack behind them.  
  
"I can't forget about you. As for the surface... you could have just kep-" They stopped themselves. No, they couldn't blame Flowey for this. "No, I would have visited you until the day my time runs out. I don't want to force you into anything. I just thought it might be good for you to get out of here." For some odd reason, it felt like talking wasn't going to solve any of this. But Frisk kept trying, saying what was on their mind, "Can't even the worst person change for the better? Those thoughts make me ask you again and again. But you never had to say yes to me."  
  
But it felt like Flowey had already made up his mind. Frisk frowned. Did they really have to fire the first shot? ... They had to. Not unless they actually _agreed_ with the last thing he said. No, no... this was their fault but they were still so selfish. Their fingers curled into fists.  
  
 _"I am not getting stuck down here again."_

"And I'm not letting you leave hehe!" Flowey sounded rather cheery once more, "Papyrus has softened you to much though, not everyone can change for the better, and if you ever do manage to get out you'll never visit me again, I'm not an IDIOT!"

Would they never come back if they escaped? Frisk huffed at such an insinuation as Flowey said it. Of course they would visit him. They'd bring the books they promised, too. They weren't afraid of him-

Flowey’s face however, didn't last long as it went to a playful smile, "..." changing the topic wouldn't be a bad idea, "As for that puzzle? You already beat it once. That's my hint."

He was a bit curious if the topic changer would work. If it did it probably would make Frisk rather annoyed more than anything else... especially since they had been trying to solve it for hours when they already technically had.

Frisk blinked at the sudden topic change. They thought the puzzle was forgotten long ago-wait, they were-  
  
"What?!" They exclaimed, taking out their backpack to grab their notebook and flip through it and squint at the words. They paused, and then gave their answer they gave to Flowey in Waterfall, without the questioning inflection in their voice this time so he wouldn't be like 'wellllll, mayyybee'.

Flowey was glad the topic successfully changed, after all they weren't getting anywhere with their conversation.

"Hehe, yup! You only had to get one piece to the end, not all 3!" He looked highly amused, "Boy was that fun watching you complete it just to try again and again! You wouldn't have figured that out without a hint now would you have?" He winked playfully at them... and then grew a vine from the ground to wrap around a pillow.

Maybe now would be a good time for a spontaneous pillow fight?

"I knew your hint was misleading! Gyah!" Frisk groaned, going to throw their notebook but then gently setting it on the ground instead. They looked up at the sound of the vine moving up.  
  
They jumped up onto the bed and grabbed another pillow, hopefully before Flowey decided to smack them with the pillow he acquired. It was time for feathers to fly, it seemed! Frisk would think about the heavier stuff later!

Flowey giggled a bit, amused by the fact they allowed him to completely move on from the topic. They probably didn't think of him as an actual threat huh? Frisk had defeated him even though he had the power of human souls on his side. Even though he had killed asgore before their very eyes... they still had wanted to grant them MERCY.

They even poured water on Undyne's head, despite the fact that she had tried to kill them. Frisk probably thought of his threat as another game, another challenge that they could win. If only they knew that it wouldn't be so easy.

Of course, these were Flowey's thoughts on the manner. He was more or less just trying to make sense of their actions, to try and imagine why he would do what they're doing if the roles were swapped.

Just as Frisk grabbed a pillow he tried to smack them flat in the face. Of course, with how good of dodging Frisk was he wouldn't be surprised when they managed to avoid his attack.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/645683319165550593/649156607661309954/image0.jpg  
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/645683319165550593/649156633561137152/image0.jpg  
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/645683319165550593/649156661440938004/image0.jpg

  
Frisk seemed cheerful, despite admitting to trapping them underground. How odd, he could never fully figure them out no matter how much he tried. Then again, that's what made them more interesting wasn't it? He could guess all he wanted about what reasons they may have had to do certain things. Sometimes he could think of logical things but... this? Anyone else wouldn't have let him change the subject, let them play games despite knowing he trapped them.

Even Papyrus wouldn't have wanted to change the subject, he would have offered to help him, that he didn't have to trap him. The guy probably would even agree to visit him every day and mean it.

He couldn't trust Frisk to mean it even if they offered it. Although.... thinking about it they'd likely keep their word, but it wasn't a guarantee.  
  
Flowey ducked into the ground as Frisk slapped a pillow towards him. The cheater.  
  
Despite being underground however, his vine didn't retreat, as it threw the pillow towards Frisk's face. The aim was a little off however, as if not able to properly aim while he couldn't see his vine. Plus the vine likely got waked by the pillow regardless. After throwing the pillow his vine would retreat into the ground, and he would pop back up at a different spot in the room, a vine breaking another innocent floorboard. Seems like hitting Flowey would be like playing wack'a'mole. They'd eventually get him of course. He wasn't going to be able duck underground all the time in time. The first time he was able to avoid it simply because he had a warning.

Frisk naturally sidestepped the pillow that was thrown at them. They might have even caught it if it wasn't drilled into them that they could not touch anything flying at them. They were pretty good at dodgeball, but other stuff like basketball and a game of catch they were terrible at.  
  
A floorboard popped off, and Frisk raised their pillow overhead and whopped Flowey with it. They did zero damage; a pillow somehow had -2 atk and they had absolutely no intent to hurt Flowey with it, just smack him around and disorient him for a bit. Flowey let out a laugh as he got hit, despite his head smacking into the ground at the impact. He wanted to hit Frisk at least once, and he wasn't about to give up... hmm there were no rules right? A vine came from a hole already in the floor and tried to grab Frisk by the ankle, while another vine grew to grab the pillow he threw. The floorboards were absolutely messed up from chasing Flowey around, but it wasn't as if Asgore was going to use this place again.  
  
A chuckle escaped him. This pillow fight was a pretty neat idea; they were having fun!

Frisk avoided being grabbed and he would keep trying to grab them, adding even more challenge to the simple game.

Flowey actually intended to mean harm with the pillow, unlike Frisk. He didn't care if they got hurt, and he figured it would be part of the fun. Although the pillow had -2 atk and would likely not hurt them at all if they got hit, despite how hard he tried to hit them with it.  
He also seemed to be having fun.

Dodging both the pillow and the vines meant Frisk hit Flowey less. He even got to watch them dodge around for a few seconds before they had danced on over to try to hit him with the pillow. They did stumble with a well-placed grabbing vine and get smacked full in the face. It took... 1 hp from them, and by the tickling sensation it gave them a bloody nose, which they shrugged off and kept playing. It'd eventually stop on its own, and was annoying at most.  
  
Both pillows were starting to make feathers fly around from over-smacking-use when cricket sounds filled the air; Frisk's phone alarm was going off.   
  
"Ah, time out time out! I gotta go to sleep!" Frisk said hurriedly, stopping and blocking any Flowey’s last few attacks with their pillow.

Flowey giggled a bit, "Okay hehe! That was fun!" He seemed rather happy, clearly having had fun, "Hopefully the pillows aren't too destroyed to use," he giggled, and then dropped the pillow he had onto one of the beds. Some of his vine's thorns had stabbed into the pillow, leaving holes throughout it and causing some of the contents to come out a bit.

"I'll manage." Frisk said, taking deep breaths to calm themselves down. They set their own pillow on the bed. There were feathers sticking out of their hair, and they combed their hands through it and then shook their head to get the rest out. "Gonna wash my face." They said, walking out the room towards the kitchen.  
  
They were pretty battered-looking when they had reached the surface, and it had alarmed the humans when they reached them in their first duty as ambassador. Funnily enough, only Toriel and Asgore knew the significance of being bloodied- Frisk had to explain to the rest of the monsters that a side-effect of losing HP for humans meant that they bled. Blood alarmed the humans a lot, much like when a monster's form wavers at lower HP.  
  
If left in peace, they'd wonder if Flowey knew about blood the same way Asgore and Toriel did. Well, he'd been watching them throughout all their resets... so he had to, right? They didn't mind either way, but they did wonder.

Flowey did leave them be, however he decided to stay in the kitchen to wait for them.

He knew about blood, about how humans bled though. He had seen Chara get hurt when they were kids, if they scraped themselves how they would bleed.

He knew he gave Frisk a nosebleed, the thing was... he just didn't care.

And for now, he would simply wait in the livingroom, staring down the kitchen, simply waiting for Frisk to be done washing up.

He didn't want them trying to escape after all.

It was oddly nostalgic being watched by Flowey. Frisk had seen him following them from time to time through their resets. Well, this time he was at least obvious about it.  
  
Unfortunately for Flowey's boredom, Frisk didn't have any plans of escaping today. They yawned as they walked back to Asgore's room, turned off the light, and then face planted right onto the bed. Eventually, they rolled onto their side and got a little more comfortable by kicking off their boots and then burying themselves in the sheets so they were a lump in the blankets.  
  
They'd peek out to look for Flowey, and say, "Goodnight." before trying to sleep.

"Goodnight!" He repeated, smiling at them with beady eyes as he watched then sleep.  
  
He continued to stare at them for a while, before sighing. Flowey couldn't risk them getting away... if he went to sleep and they woke up before him?

No, he couldn't allow that. Frisk may not be trying to escape now, but that wouldn't last for long. He was sure they'd eventually try to leave. Perhaps they wanted him to trust they wouldn't try leaving before they left?

It didn't matter, he wasn't going to take any chances. Vines shot from the ground, wrapping around the door to help seal it tight. There we go, perfect.

With the door safely locked, he would follow suit, closing his own eyes and staying where he was in the middle of the room. Slightly leaned over to the side as he drifted into a deep sleep.

Sleep came to them quickly.  
  
_This is quite the pickle you're in. Are you sure you should be so relaxed?_ Frisk's dreams asked them.

_Yeah._ They smiled. Their chance always-  
  
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEE-  
  
Frisk reached and turned their phone off. Ugh, they were really warm and comfy, they didn't want to get out of bed yet- but their body ran on their self-built circadian rhythm and so they flipped the covers off and blinked groggily at Asgore's room. Their hair was sticking up in places.

Flowey jumped awake at the alarm, instantly summoning his pellet bullets above his head from the startled wake.

He looked around the room, and only calmed down from being spooked when he realized it was just a phone alarm.

He desummoned his attack, and looked over to Frisk with a happy smile, his vines slowly retreating from the door, "Howdy Frisk! How did ya sleep?" He winked playfully at them, seeming to be wide awake now that the actual shock of waking up was gone.

Frisk raised an eyebrow at the bullets, but didn't comment on them. The action was understandable considering how empty it was down here.  
  
"Like a rock." They replied, stretching their arms up as they watched the vines withdraw from the door. Huh. Flowey really was being paranoid about them leaving, huh? They swung their feet off the bed to put their boots back on, "You sleep good too?"

"As good as a flower can sleep!" He retorted with a wink, before going back to a beady smile, "Say... Frisk are you hungry? I could try to make some food if you want, or perhaps you can help me make it? I'm rather small after all. I don't normally eat food because I don't need it, but I know you do."

"Making breakfast with you sounds great!" Frisk replied cheerfully. They were pretty hungry. Save points weren't exactly a good substitute for food. They did cook with Toriel a few times after being stubborn about helping her cook, so they wouldn't be completely lost about cooking... hopefully.  
  
"Wonder if there's any ingredients left in the kitchen...?" They said as they opened the door and walked to said destination.

Flowey followed after them, "There may be baking materials from when Asgore tried to recreate Toriel's butterscotch pie. He's not the best baker though, so he always ruined them. Monster food doesn't go bad so if there's anything in there you can eat it!"  
  
Inside the fridge were a bunch of eggs, some milk, butterscotch, and for some reason a bundle of golden flowers in a bag.

There was also a brand name chocolate bar inside, as well as a forgotten slice of leftover snail pie.

Seems Asgore didn't clean out his fridge before leaving.

“Hmmm..." Frisk took out the milk and eggs and carefully put them onto the counter, before starting to search through the cabinets. "Flour, flour, where is the flour-?" They hummed, making a lot of banging sounds from the pots and pans under the counter. They took out a small pan-well, small for Asgore's standards. It was still rather bulky for them as they hefted it onto the stove. Flowey watched them gather ingredients and a pot to start cooking.  
  
"Geez, there's no butter or measuring cups..." They grumbled, but perked up, "Maybe I can use butterscotch as butter!"  
  
It'd probably kinda taste weird as butterscotch milky eggs, but hey they were open to trying new things!

Flowey cringed a bit, "Just omit the butter. There's no reason to waste perfectly good butterscotch like that, unless you're planning to make butterscotch pie or something."

"Hmmm..." Frisk hummed, making a face at the cube of butterscotch in their hand. Maybe they ought to save it since food was a bit scarce down here now. They put the butterscotch back in the fridge and crossed their arms, making a discontented hum. "If I fry the eggs without butter, it'll stick... I wonder if- OH YEAH, water!" They made a small fist pump at their own genius, "I could make hard boiled eggs!"  
  
They moved the pan to the sink and filled it with water, and then carefully put the pan back onto the stove. They turned on the heat and waited. And waited. Impatient, they turned the heat higher. Nope, it wasn't boiling. They tapped their foot impatiently and turned the heat up even higher. The flames were licking up the sides of the pot now...

Flowey watched, a steady frown plastered on his face, "Golly, Frisk did you learn how to cook from Undyne? You know she sucks at it right???" He grew a vine, moving it towards the nob to try and lower the temperature, only to flinch back at the higher heat. Seems he wasn't to much of a fan when it came to fire, "It's to hot! There shouldn't be any fire when cooking!"

"Yes, I have learned a lot from Undyne!" Frisk said proudly, "What! The water's not boiling yet! Ngyaaah!" They imitated, not seeming too concerned as they grinned wide. "Oh, NOW it is!" They decided to grab a spoon from a drawer and turn the heat down with it. They preferred not to burn themselves, thank you very much.  
  
"The eggs are next!" They announced, and then opened the carton and very gently put the eggs into the nearly over-boiling water. They retracted their hand and shook it, ouch steam was hot. "I'm not sure how long I'm supposed to wait... Do you know?" They admitted, looking to Flowey for help. Geez, it was starting to feel like a sauna in here already.

Flowey looked a bit shocked, before glaring, "Why didn't you just let me cook if you didn't know how to do it!?"

"Because cooking is a bonding experience!"

He grew a vine and tried to swat them away like they were an annoying fly. Frisk hopped out of the way. "Let me cook them, because if you learned how to cook from Undyne then that means you'll just burn the place down."

He then moved a vine to lower the temperature to around a 7, or medium/high heat, that would allow the eggs to still boil, but just not as much.

Flowey paused after a moment, realizing he couldn't even look at the eggs or the stove, "Hey Frisk. Can you set a timer for about 4 minutes? We can't exactly make hard boiled eggs because you put them in boiling water, but we can try to at least make soft boiled eggs."

"Well... as long as they're cooked!" Frisk replied as they took out their phone and tapped at the timer app to set the time. Along the way, they decided to turn off their alarms for today. 

Frisk glanced at the other ingredients thoughtfully. They eyed the chocolate bar.  
  
_No way, chocolate for breakfast will give me a stomachache!_ They thought, and then eyed the milk.  
  
"Chocolate milk is next." They decided.

Chocolate milk? Chara loved that…

"..." Flowey decided to not comment about the chocolate milk. He was never a fan of chocolate, just like Chara had never been a fan of butterscotch. They often nicknamed the pie 'butts pie'. The nickname at least had been rather amusing to say the least.

Frisk put their phone on the counter, leaned against the side, and waited. But not for long. They were soon fidgeting with their phone again, trying to see if they could connect to the undernet. They waved their phone around, trying for a better signal.  
  
"MeTube might have a video on melting chocolate..." They muttered, they would prefer NOT to burn the chocolate, thanks. Anything else was fine, just not the chocolate. "Wonder if butterscotch milk exists?" ... Their experiments were never going to end.

Flowey was staring at the pot, completely ignoring them until they mentioned butterscotch milk. Did Frisk really wa-

He turned and looked at them in slight disbelief, "Why not just... keep the butterscotch as is? The only thing better than pure butterscotch is butterscotch cinnamon pie-" Seems butterscotch was likely his favourite candy, and the thought of the small amount that remained being destroyed by a cooking experiment bothered him, "- And usually with chocolate milk you need chocolate syrup, not a chocolate bar. I think the best you'll get is just putting a block of chocolate in the milk and stirring it around to see what happens. Unless you want hot chocolate, then youll need to put milk in a pot with the chocolate bad and cook it. It won't be the same but you'll at least get a chocolate drink from it."

Flowey would also likely never admit that he was trying to protect the butterscotch from being experimented on either.

Flowey was right... they couldn't experiment right now. Food was limited. They thought that they could maybe mix the butterscotch with the choco-no! They looked at the butterscotch and then put it back in the fridge.  
  
Just then, the timer went off. Frisk tapped the alarm to silence it and then turned off the heat.  
  
"Do we wait for it to cool off?" They asked, and crouched near the cabinets and opened the door to try to find a colander. That was needed for boiled eggs, they remember!

"Depends if you like them hot or not," Flowey explained, silently cursing auto correct for trying to write Flowery instead of his name.

"I shouldn't eat any of them, since you're the one that needs them..." he paused, glancing to the fridge without saying a word. Whenever Frisk wasn't around he planned to stash the butterscotch away somewhere else.

He thought he had already eaten all the butterscotch in the underground, he couldn't believe he forgot to check Asgore's house for it…

He wasn't planning on letting Frisk have it either.

"I think I remember what to do! Pour it in the colander and put cold water on em!" Frisk declared, and then put the colander into the sink. They grabbed the pot's handle and slowly and carefully poured the eggs and water into the colander, almost filling the room with steam.  
  
"Aw, geez! There's no ventilation at all in here!" They protested, putting the pot on the counter and waving their hands a few times to try to clear the steam faster.

Flowey did laugh when Frisk complained about there being no ventilation, "Of course there isn't! Hehe, we're underground. Ventilation isn't going to be available everywhere down here."  
  
Frisk went right onto pouring milk into the pot they just used and unwrapping the chocolate... and of course took a bite out of it beforehand before dropping the whole bar into the milk. They grabbed a wooden spoon and turned the heat up, just a little this time, and started stirring the milk. They didn't say anything, letting the chocolate melt in their mouth instead. Flowey was rather surprised they put it on the low temperature they needed... Seems they were good at something at least.

_Don't burn the milk... just heat it up enough to melt the chocolate._ Frisk thought, stirring carefully. Slowly, the milk started to turn a warm brown and bubbled at the edges. They turned the heat off and focused on the eggs, tapping it gently, and started to peel it. They accidentally peeled off part of the white part, and egg yolk ran down their arm.  
  
"Nooo! Flowey, could you give me a bowl please?!"

No," Flowey rejected, and then gave them an innocent smile, "It's not my fault cha made a mess! Besides, I'm just a little ol' flower. How am I supposed to get a bowl?" He winked towards them, still playing innocent.

They both knew damn well he could get a bowl. He wouldn't have threatened to fling Frisk if he didn't have the capability to lift such a simple object.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot you were a weak, helpless flower who just wants to spread love and hap-hah, haha-" Frisk snickered but quickly cleared their throat as Flowey rolled his eyes, "Love and happiness all around!" They wheezed somewhat and put the poor soft-boiled egg down to wash off their arm and look for a bowl themselves. Flowey giggled a bit himself.

"Golly, you made quite the mess didn't cha?"

"A mess? Oh, you haven't seen nothing yet."

"I think I've seen enough," Flowey rolled his eyes. Frisk shoved up imaginary long sleeves and then started peeling more soft boiled eggs (over a bowl this time). The first few they got impatient and it crumbled in their hands and into the bowl, but the rest were... at least not mush. Despite his words, Flowey watched them make even more of a mess. Golly, how in the world did they screw over soft boiled eggs so much?Then again, he couldn't do much better as a flower in all honesty. The final egg, however, Frisk somehow managed to peel perfectly, and held it up in victory in their hand.

"Cooking skills plus one!" They announced, and hummed some gaming level up jingle.

"It's only plus 1 because I talked you out of experimenting with butterscotch," he stuck out his tongue at Frisk for a moment, a smile showing on his face, "Next time I'll just have to find some prepackaged monster food that somebody left in their house. I think it will save you from poisoning yourself in the future."

“Anything is fine, as long as it's not Dog Salad." Frisk replied, making a face. They had exploited the dog residue way too often for the free food... they could never look at tennis balls the same way again. Anyway, they popped the egg into their mouth and CHECKED the rest of the bowl of eggs just for kicks and giggles.  
  
_*A horribly prepared egg-like meal made by Frisk. Heals 4 HP._  
  
_Wow, my cooking is that bad?_ Frisk pouted, and grabbed a fork from one of the drawers to eat it relatively slowly. They could just USE it, but they had kicked that habit when their classmates seemed astounded that they could clear their lunch tray in under a second, so... Oh, come to think of it, they were going to miss school today. The realization made them drift off in thought. What were they going to say to their friends when they got worried? They frowned somewhat.  
  
...Let's just burn that bridge when we get there. Frisk thought. It was still morning, probably.

“Please, as if I'd get dog salad. It's much easier to find dogfood packaged up than anything else," Flowey watched the face they made, a bit amused at the reaction. Huh, maybe he should find some dog salad instead, "Those guys were so excited to leave that they left nearly everything behind!"

“You’re gonna feed me dog food next? Geez, I’m hurt.” Frisk snickered. The dog salad did have bits of kibble in it, though, and they stuck their tongue out at the memory, “Blegh, the dog salad is barely any better anyway-“

He remembered how hyped the royal guard dogs were. They didn't grab their food, just some toys and... oddly enough some of them thought random sticks were something to be packed.  
Flowey knew they loved playing fetch, but that was a bit ridiculous. There were sticks all over the surface they could grab to!

Watching Frisk eat was interesting. The whole time they were in the underground they kinda just scarfed the food down in an instant. He hadn't ever seen them eat normally before, so it was a bit odd to see them eat this way.

Speaking of missing school, a text message would arrive to Frisk's phone.

MK:(monster kid)  
[Yo Frisk you alright? You never miss school, and Mrs. Deemurr seems worried. Want me to text ya what we learn in class today?]

“You’re gonna feed me dog food next? Geez, I’m hurt.” Frisk snickered. The dog salad did have bits of kibble in it, though, and they stuck their tongue out at the memory, “Blegh, the dog salad is barely any better anyway-“  
  
Ding!   
  
Frisk looked to their phone on the counter and picked it up. A small sigh left them as they read the text. They took a moment to think over their reply and tapped away at a high speed, very used to texting their friends.

Frisk:  
[Hey dude, that’d be great! I’ll ask mom to email me the hw. I got some personal stuff to care of, dunno how long it’ll take tho]  
  
They sent it, went to Toriel’s contact and paused. They had no idea what to tell her... they told her that they were at a friend’s house.  
  
“Hmmm, hey Flowey, you’re pretty good at lying right? Spare a tip or two?”  
  
He probably wouldn’t give them one but it was worth a shot. Maybe he’d at least give them an idea.

"Hm? What makes you think I'm good at lying?" he said innocently, giving them a default smile, staring at them with his beady black eyes, "What do you even need to lie about? Can't exactly help you lie without knowing any context!" he giggled a bit, rather amused that Frisk asked him for help with that. Frisk snickered at Flowey’s innocent face and put their empty egg bowl in the sink.

He never entirely expected the perfect pacifist angel that saved all of monster kind, to ask for help when it came to lying.

Flowey was rather curious as to what they were wanting to lie about. By now their friends were going to start getting worried about them right? Perhaps they needed a lie to make them not worry.... he hoped so, because that would mean Frisk wanted to stay with him.

Oh, Flowey _did_ seem interested? Maybe he was yanking their chain, but they leaned back against the counter and humored him.  
  
“Well I’m hoping to come up with an excuse to where I am, one that won’t let mom worry too much. I’ve already told her and Monster Kid I was dealing with some personal stuff at my friend’s house, sooo... gotta build off of that, I guess.” Frisk shrugged. It was technically true. Even if their friend sort of trapped them in his house via an intentional cave in.

"Hmm well, perhaps you could tell her your friend turned out to be very ill... perhaps their symptoms are excessive diarrhea, perhaps even bloody? They may even have blisters in their mouth and are bed ridden. You're trying to help them go to the hospital perhaps, " He tilted his head a bit, laughing slightly, "Joking! That would make Toriel remember how Chara was before they died!" He then playfully stuck out his tongue, "I mean... you could say you went hiking with them and got a bit lost, that you're fine and will find your way home eventually..." he grinned a bit darkly, "And then eventually I break your phone, to signify a lost signal. Then nobody will know you're down here..." his face quickly morphed into a giddy smile, "And you can stay here forever!"

Flowey wondered if Frisk would actually say the lie he gave her, despite ignoring the bit of 'I don't want to worry them'.

After all, it was a good lie right? They'd search for her, but no one would go back to the underground. It was as Flowey didn't know that this was the only nearby mountain on the surface, that the only good hiking places weren't exactly nearby so to speak.

Frisk has a pretty tough stomach, but they cringed at the visualization Flowey verbally gave them coupled with Chara’a demise.  
  
“Uhhh, yeahhh, that’s not gonna work.” Frisk said after Flowey was done ranting, “They’re going to search for me, and if they search too close to the mountain they’ll find the cave-in, and then even if I DID stage my death there they’re gonna keep looking if they don’t find the body-“ They paused, realizing they were actually roped into considering it, “I am not faking my death Flowey. Something simpler than that... I think maybe I should tell them I went a journey, and I’d do my homework and ambassador stuff along the way. Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks for helpin’ me out, dude.” They did actually mean the last part as they tapped on their phone. Hearing the wrong thing to do made them think of something right. Or at least better than, uh, reminding their mom of her first dead child.

Flowey frowned a bit, "But faking your death would be a wonderful idea!! They'd never find you. I mean, I could always grab one of the bodies in the basement and shove it at the foot of the cave-in," Flowey then smiled brightly, "And when they find it they'll think it's you!! I mean, wouldn't that be an even better idea? They'd never pester ya about anything!" He giggled a bit.  
Oh yeah he was roped into considering it. Faking Frisk's death? What could be a better stunt than that??

He also wasn't entirely aware that human bodies decayed over time, and that putting a human skeleton child under some rocks wouldn't solve anything.

Frisk wasn't too impressed with the thought of being cut completely off from everyone else, but they tried to go about this logically. Flowey was at least reasonable in that regard. Well... usually. He seemed like he was in an odd mood right now...  
  
"Wouldn't work. Humans have more physical bodies than monsters do, and they've come up with tech that can identify every individual human via their DNA. They already have my DNA. Faking my death is impossible." Their tone lightened as they smiled, "Besides, I like it when my friends can pester me. Just like how I like it when I can pester you."  
  
No, Frisk couldn't really be mad at Flowey for trapping them under here. They didn't blame him. They should have been more thoughtful, more careful, but when it came to Flowey they had no retries... But they at least had just about forever.  
  
"Maybe I ought to teach you stuff I'm learning in class." They decided, typing on their phone.  
  
Frisk:  
[Hey Mom, I'm gonna be out for a while. I'm not sure when I'll get back. You mind emailing me the homework? Pls? I'll send u a pic of it when I complete it. Thanks <3]

Flowey frowned when Frisk explained it wouldnt work, pausing to think for a bit.  
Maybe Frisk wouldn't mind a severed arm to play into the faked death? They could always make it seem like some kinda bear ate them. Bears lived on the surface, and he saw them in some books. that sould be reasonable right? Who cares if Frisk liked being pestered. He certainly didn't care, and them pestering Frisk just gave him less time to hang out with them.

His pondering was interrupted however when Frisk offered to teach him stuff, "If you want! It may be a bit of fun... but... what if we just sever one of your arms? I'm sure we could make use of a severed arm in faking your death right? And I have healing magic so I could make sure ya don't bleed to death!" He winked playfully, as if his idea was amazing.

They have had their limbs cut off before. Well, more like beaten off (thanks Sans) and so faint phantom twinges of pain went through their arm at the suggestion. They had a response, but they also had a bad feeling this conversation would go even worse if they sarcastically said that they’d need a whole new body for it to be convincing.  
  
“I’m not faking my death Flowey. Let’s drop it.” They said, “What do you want to learn about? I got algebra, music, English-“ they paused as their phone started dinging multiple times, and set it to silent, “-history, physics... a lotta classes. I guess gym too if that counts as a class?”

"Alright alright, but it would be a good idea!" He rolled his eyes, looking a bit annoyed, "But um... I already know lots of stuff. Just tell me stuff that you can't learn underground I guess," He shrugged a bit, "Like what other monsters found interesting or new, I don't know? Just something that's not boring."

Flowey didn't exactly know what he wanted Frisk to teach him. In all honesty he was pretty cocky about what he already knew from the limited vast amount of books that had been found in the dump. Sure most of them had missing pages, or were so damaged by water you couldn't even read them, but there were a lot of books and even videos that happened to make it out okay!

Surely there wasn't a lot that he was missing after all, or so he thought. He didn't actually know a lick about human history other than Alphys animes and what he himself learned when he went to the surface.... before dying that is.

Toriel didn't respond for a bit. However it wouldn't take too long either for a response to be sent.

Toriel [xx:30]  
[Frisk... You know I'm okay with you being gone for a while. You're a lot older now than you used to be... but can't you just tell me where you are my child? I'm worried about you. You are not lying, because you think I will worry more are you? I may be old but I am not a fool. You always know about when you will come back.]  
  
Toriel: [xx:32]  
[I may be worrying a bit more than I should, but is that not what mothers do? I'm sorry if you are not lying Frisk. I just want to make sure you are okay. I do not know what you are doing, or where you are, I have been left in the dark. I trust you have good reasonings behind your actions, and silence about where you are... but please know that it still does not stop me from worrying.]  
  
Toriel: [xx:33]  
[Be good, won't you my child?]

Frisk glanced at their phone and quickly read through Toriel’s text. Their response was quick.  
  
>[I will.]

Although Frisk didn't know it, Toriel would frown at the message she got back. She was filled with worry. What could Frisk be doing? Were they okay? She sighed, doing her best to hide her worry as class began. She would wait until school ended to call Frisk.

What would Flowey not know about the surface that the other monsters found interesting?  
  
“There’s billions of humans spread across the surface, for one.” Frisk said, “Everyone seemed really surprised by how many there is. I think the closest town near Mt. Ebott has about seven thousand humans in it.”

Billions of humans huh? Boy, would they be screwed if there was another war. It's a good thing he wasn't on the surface if that was the case. His curiosity would likely cause a war, at least that's what Flowey figured. After all, the count of monsters barely reached 1k. 

“The world’s really big though, so it’s not really crowded. You could run all day and never reach the end of it. Trust me, Undyne’s already tried.” They chuckled at the memory and grabbed a mug from a cabinet. Carefully, they poured the lightly steaming chocolate drink into it and set the pot aside. Mug in their hands, they slid down the counter’s cabinet, sat on the floor, and crossed their legs. There was a table, but it wasn’t like there was anyone around to trip over them.

Wow, you could run all day and not make it to the other side? There's a lot more to explore than down here then…No, that fact didn't matter. He would never get to see it, he couldn't get to see it. He would just toy with everyone's life like how he was toying with Frisk's life by locking them down here. It didn't matter if he was becoming more curious about the surface. Frisk could just tell him about it. He didn't have to experience it to learn.  
  
“Most of the world is water, and a lot of the deep sea is unexplored...” They started listing off facts about the world off the top of their head, about the different biomes in the world- “It’s actually really odd that there’s snow underground, but I guess that’s just a monster-made biome from all the magic?”

He knew about the water bit as surprising as that was. A globe had fallen into the dump before, and although scratched up, he had been able to learn about the overall look of the planet, and how there was more water than land. He wouldn't lie, he didn't expect it to be scaled down so much as to make you unable to run around the world in 1 day.

“Y’know those weird snappy flowers that sucked up flies? Those are Venus Fly traps! Maybe one of the child’s souls had one?” 

…

Did Frisk really try to teach him about venus fly traps? He used the attack for a reason, because he knew about them. His look of interest actually changed to one of unamusement, as if visually saying 'really?' in the most sarcastic way possible.

Frisk talked on and on, but they did watch Flowey's facial expressions along the way, letting those be his replies since he seemed so interested. They grinned awkwardly about the venus fly traps he already knew about but didn't falter on switching topics to space.

“Space goes on forever! Humans went into space and walked on the moon cause’ their countries got mad at each other for advancing their tech so fast.” They’d connect topics to other things and talk on and on unless Flowey interrupted them or asked a question. Occasionally, they sipped at their hot chocolate.

Although, when they started talking about space his interest returned. Boy was he wrong. There was so much he didn't know. And although he kind of wanted to see it all now.... he knew he never would. Flowey didn’t interrupt them as he waited for them to finish speaking, or to run out of topic ideas.

"There's planets where it rains diamonds, and where the surfaces are almost as hot as a star itself... There's planets made outta gas too... oh, stars have a life cycle! I don't remember all of it, but I think they get bigger and bigger until they explode in a supernova and then become a black hole and suck up everything, even light, and then uh I think they might become this dead-star thing called a red dwarf. There's even some planets like this one, where they can probably support life, so maybe there's aliens out there! But they're so far away humans can't get to them. Oh, apparently there's a theory that the entire universe is circling something so massive that it can't be detected by normal tech today. Humans built machines that went to the planets in our solar system though! Mars looks like a desert, and it's windy all the time, and the moon has caves that might be warm enough to live in if humans had the right amount of tech-" Frisk was really interested in space it seemed, they stayed on that topic for a long time, "- Space is so cool. It makes me feel so small." They eventually concluded, and went quiet, trying to think of what to say next but also resting their voice.  
  
Having some sort of idea of a greater entity did take off some of the pressure of having their own impossible power, if only a little.  
  
"I wonder if other planets have monsters... alien monsters..." They thought out loud, and then got up to fill their mug up with colder water from the sink. It was kinda icky chocolate-milk water, but they didn't seem to mind drinking it. They were going to talk themselves hoarse at this rate!

Flowey seemed more and more interested as they spoke. The surface and space sounded far more amazing than down here… No, he had to stop this before he wanted to learn too much, before he wanted to see it himself. But he couldn't bring himself to stop Frisk from talking, he was just too damned curious.

"Golly that's really interesting! I never knew any of that... well the fly trap bit I did. I mean I was the one in control of that power until those humans rebelled..." Flowey thought for a moment before continuing, "But you mentioned being curious how Snowdin has Snow,I could actually tell you how that's possible if you want! After all you told me so much about the surface. I could repay the favor by telling you all about the underground if ya want," he winked at them, before going to a cheerful smile. Yes, this was perfect. He just had to talk about the underground, and then he wouldn't become as interested at the surface anymore.  
It was the perfect solution.

Frisk did remember more human tech from the Omega Flowey fight... like those Flowey psuedo-nukes. Actual nukes would be a bit more devastating, but maybe their experience was skewed or something... Okay, they should stop thinking about that fight before they got phantom pains again. Or a headache. They rubbed their side of their head to focus away from it.  
  
"Yeah, tell me! Is it because of monster magic?" Frisk agreed, sitting back onto the floor. They could kind of tell Flowey was planning something because of that cheery smile and wink... what was it, though? He seemed so interested when they were talking. They curiously CHECKED him.

FLOWEY  
Atk: 16  
Def: 10  
Hp: 20/20  
 _*He doesn't care about you. Flowey has become interested about the surface._  
  
_Hey, you should use this chance to get him even more interested in the surface!_ They thought. But they refused to do that. They had already pressured Flowey enough with their naively infrequent visits, haven't they? They wanted Flowey to come with them freely and willingly, not outright manipulate him until he felt like he had no other choice!

"Nope! It's actually very simple. Ya see, being underground means we don't get any sunlight, and that means we don't get as much heat down here!" He smiled brightly, "The only exception of course is hotlands, since it's right above lava. Which if you didn't know, is probably hotter than the sun. Waterfall is warm because of this, otherwise the water that fell down from the surface would freeze up. And then Snowdin? That place is covered in snow because the mist from waterfall gets far enough away from hotlands to freeze. It's got nothing really to do with magic, just location."

He then paused for a moment, before realizing he missed the ruins and the capital, home and new home respectfully.

"The ruins is a bit chilly, but some holes in the top, such as where you fell from, allow some warmth to get inside. The ruin doors prevent any snow from getting in there as well. New home, where we are now, is near both hotlands and the barrier, so that should be more or less self explanatory right?" He studied Frisk, wondering if what he said made any sense. He also wasn't aware that lava wasn't hotter than the sun.

“Oh, so it’s all dependent on the lava and sunlight filtering in. And actually! The sun is wayyyy hotter than the lava! I dunno how much, but it’s like... saying that it’s a big ball of fire is an understatement. I can’t remember what the process is called, I didn’t get that far in science class...”

"There's no way the sun is hotter than lava!" Flowey frowned, "The small bit of sunlight I get in the ruins isn't near as hot as the heat in hotlands!" He sounded like he didn't believe what Frisk was saying.

Frisk hummed thoughtfully, “If sunlight is heating up the Underground, I wonder how Snowdin is so bright when it’s so cold?”

Maybe staying down here for so long in reset-time made this place all the more fascinating to them. It wasn’t really a place they wanted to stay in forever, though. What exactly kept Flowey here...?

"Oh, well that's because when exploring Snowdin some monsters that could fly put lights up on the ceiling. They didn't do that for waterfall because of all the glowing mushrooms though. After all it was the closest we could get to actual stars, so no one wanted to change it."

“Yeah, Waterfall wouldn’t be the same if they added artificial lights there.” Frisk said. Flowey looked thoughtful before putting on a smile again. It kinda easy to read him, honestly, even without CHECKing him. Maybe it was cause’ it was peaceful right now. Or maybe it was because they’ve known him for so long.

Flowey couldn't remember if he told Frisk why he chose to stay in the underground forever, and he didn't think he would now.

After all, they'd probably try and counter any claims he made.  
  
He was a threat to the monster's happy ending, he would just toy with their lives when he got bored.

He couldn't feel love or compassion anyways, so it was a waste to try and give him a happy ending he didn't deserve in the first place, and it wasn't like he could get one anyways.

Besides, he died there. It would be a lie to say the surface itself, wasn't a little scary.

Sure, at some point he had wanted to go back to the surface, but it wasn't for a happy ending. He had wanted to show everyone that the world was kill or be killed, he had wanted to kill humans for their souls so he could become a god and toy with everyone's lifes, both humans and monsters.

He got to feel everyone's feelings though. He got to feel what it was like to be whole again thanks to Frisk.. even if it was temporary. He already knew that every month in isolation bought him closer and closer to being the soulless flower that he once was.

He still had a bit of Asriel inside of him, enough to make sure he didn't leave but... deep down he wondered if going to the surface would make him want more power. After all, billions of humans on the surface? Surely they wouldn't miss a few of them...  
He should stop his thoughts right there.

"Any other questions about the underground ya got?" He asked happily, desperately trying to change his thought process away from the surface again.

Flowey was right, Frisk would have countered any claims he had and try to convince him that he deserves a second chance. They actually did suspect it and tried to convince him a few times, but Flowey usually just didn’t listen to them when they talked about bringing him to the surface. And so, they were left simply wondering.

“Mmh, I dunno what else to ask. I’ve already been down here for a while.” They said with a shrug. They stood up and started rinsing off their dishes out of habit. They usually washed their own dishes unless Toriel playfully ushered them out of the way. Geez mom, they could do some chores too!

"That's true hehe!" Flowey giggled a bit, before watching them.

Frisk wondered what they should do next. Homework? They didn’t bring it with them, so they’d have to wait for Toriel. Explore? They knew this place like the back of their hand already. Keep talking? Their throat hurt already. Come up with a possible escape plan? Uh... not yet. They owed Flowey at least a bit more time, even if their friends got worried. Play? Play what?

“Hey Flowey, whaddya wanna do today?” Frisk asked, scratching off dried egg yolk on the bowl with their nails.

lowey would pause, and then give a thoughtful gaze, "Oh! I know, can you give me your phone? I want to see what a surface phone is like!"

He wondered if it was the same phone that Alphys had given them all those years ago, or if it was a newer one... either way he wanted a bit of an excuse to grab and break it. Frisk had clearly been getting messages from people, but he didn't exactly know what they sent back. For all he knew they were plotting an escape. He couldn't let that happen…

Any chance of somebody finding out where they were was a chance that someone would come to free them... and if enough people came? Then there'd be no way he could stop them. The only reason he got all the monsters the last time was because they were distracted by their pow-wow talk, and he had the strength of 6 human souls within him. With that strength he was able to harvest the souls of still living monsters…

But without any soul at all? At most he could kill 1 or two monsters, not all of Frisk's friends at once.

Flowey figured Frisk knew that, and was perhaps trying to plot when they'd be freed, that or they were trying to get his guard down.

Why else would they not be trying to get away still... right? They didn't actually believe staying down here would 'save' him did they? They were an idiot if that was the case.

“My phone?” Frisk shook their hands dry and took it out from their pocket. They sat nearby Flowey and showed him the screen, scooting closer so he could see, “C’mere!” They encouraged him to look over their shoulder at the screen, “So Alphys combined her tech with the humans, this is sort of like a magic-powered touch-screen phone. I only need a bit of magic to recharge it every few weeks. Mine only responds to uh, meaty sort of touches? So I don’t think you could use it cause’ you got vines. I’ll help you out with navigating it.”

Flowey expected them to not entirely give over their phone, so it didn't entirely surprise him that Frisk sat down next to him and showed him their phone instead.

They did know that Flowey could probably destroy the final connection to their friends without a hitch, and they were probably the biggest idiot ever for even trying to trust someone who’s hurt them so often in the past, but that has never stopped Frisk from being determined to do whatever they wanted. And right now, that was just simply spending time with Flowey. It was his choice if he was going to hurt them.

"A bit of magic to recharge it? Do you even have magic?" Flowey asked with a small giggle, "Or does Toriel have to charge it for ya?"

A vine grew from the soil next to him... and then for now just curiously poked it, trying to open a random application. He happened to click on their gallery. He could destroy it in a second, for now he wondered what was on it.

The phone didn’t respond when Flowey poked at it, Frisk instead tapped the gallery app icon with their finger. There were dozens of pictures of their friends, both monster and human alike, and then some funny memes and puns they also downloaded.

“I can’t charge it... the phone seems to like Alphys’s magic the best. It’s another excuse to visit her and Undyne!” Frisk explained, “But I do have magic! Just human sorta magic, if you can even call it magic. Nothin’ special.” They said with a sneaky wink.

The phone didn't respond to his vine.. but that's okay. Frisk clicked on the app anyways, showing him dozens of their pictures. His interest in the surface became a bit greater, before he shook the curiosity away. No, he asked about her phone so he could destroy it, not see photos of things from the surface!

While Frisk explained that they couldn't charge it, and that they had some magic, he would summon some pellets above their head, just out of view.... 

“Hey, wanna take a photo together?” They asked, brushing off the topic of magic and tapping to the camera. The screen showed both of them, Flowey with a smile, while some white bullets of his own magic could be seen above Frisk's head.

Oh shit, there goes his stealthy plan at destroying the phone. If he had any chance he had to do it now. He fired all the pellets in that instance directly at the phone.

It may just be innocent white pellets, but Frisk had the same reaction as if Flowey was suddenly holding up a knife to stab them. They tucked the phone to their chest and somersaulted away from Flowey to land and face him in a crouch.

“Oh come on, are we really going to FIGHT this early in the morning?!” They complained, frowning, their grip tightening on the device as they quickly pieced together what he was trying to do. Nope, Flowey was NOT going to destroy their phone.

Flowey continued to smile.

"Who said I was fighting? Hehe..." he looked over to his dialogue box, a mischievous expression showing on his face, "I was just trying to charge your phone for you," he lied, looking back over to them and playfully winking, sticking his tongue out as well, "You said it charged with magic right? Surely attacking it would give it a boost right?"

He knew Frisk would see straight through his lie, but he was curious how they would respond. Would they call him out on it, or pretend he was trying to say the truth? It didn't matter that he failed either way. He could always get their phone while they slept.

Frisk slowly put their phone back into their pocket. If they played along, he’d destroy it later, if they called him out, he’d have fun riling them up. Neither of those choices seemed like a good path.

It was a bit funny that they didn’t mind the cave-in so much as they minded their phone being destroyed. At this point, it almost felt like a part of them with how much they used it.

“Why do you want to destroy my phone...?” They asked instead, honestly confused. Was it something they said? Why did he... “I mean, right now. You seemed fine with it earlier? ... Do you really hate having your picture taken that much?” They asked, a bit of a hysteric huff leaving them at the last question.

Flowey looked a bit confused. He didn't expect that assumption to be made. He recalled when he was still a goat that he loved to make recordings and take pictures... oh yeah, Frisk didn't really know that did they? Huh, guess it made a bit of sense that the assumption was made since he attacked while the camera was showing.

"No you idiot," Flowey gave them a beady smile, as he stared seemingly straight through their soul, "It's because you keep using it. You may not be doing it now, but eventually you'll call for help, you'll try to get away from here... I'm not an idiot about that," he gave a slightly pained smile, trying to perhaps guilt them into staying even longer than they originally intended, "And... well if I destroyed your phone you wouldn't be able to call for help.... so you wouldn't be able to leave me all alone again...."

Oh yeah... they remembered Asriel liked taking videos. But that could have changed, right?

Frisk frowned. Taking a breath in and out, they took a moment and tried to calm down their racing heart. "On the contrary, I need this phone to stay here. I have responsibilities I need to take care of outside of spending time with you. I honestly don't mind staying down here for a while, I'll make it work, but I need my phone. If I wanted help, I would've asked for it already." They smiled and shrugged, "Aren't you eventually going to get tired of being around me?"

Flowey didn't care that he probably caused them to panic a bit.  
"Why do you have responsibilities that you need to do, if you're staying here forever?" He continued to smile, staring straight through them as he tilted his head a bit, "Wouldn't it be better just to drop everything? They'll never see you again. So why does it matter?" Flowey figured he'd make it clear right then and there. Frisk was staying there regardless if they wanted to or not.... and they weren't ever going to leave.

"Hehe, and don't worry Frisk. You're always fun to play with! I can never predict you, so it'll always be interesting!"

"I can't leave everyone behind so easily. Right now, this phone is the only way I can make sure they're okay and let them know I'm okay, too. If you destroy it, it's only a matter of time before they come looking for me." Frisk replied, "I'm under the impression that you don't want that, right?"

They would prefer that they had a peaceful stay but it seemed more and more likely that this wouldn't be the case. _Give an inch, and they'll take a mile._ They thought.

"They'll look for you either way, you can't lie forever," Flowey glared. He didn't want them searching for Frisk, but he knew it was a manner or time. He opened his mouth to say something else... only for Frisk's phone to start ringing.

Toriel was calling.

He paused, and growled slightly, "Don't answer that,"

Frisk’s phone was already in their hand, their thumb hovering over the 'answer' button. Flowey's infamous pellet trap was summoned around them. Riiiiing. It was so tempting to answer right then and there, but they let it ring. They needed their phone. Riiing. They said nothing. Riiiiing. But if Flowey looked like he was going to destroy their phone anyway, it'd be nice to hear mom's voice one last time...

_Yeah, right. He'd insta-shoot me the moment I touch the screen._ Frisk thought, but with the bullets threatening them they were certainly feeling a bit more rebellious. However, their indecision cost them, as their phone rang for the fourth and final time.

_"Hey, it's Frisk. Leave a message and your number after the tone. Beeeep."_ Their phone said in their voice.

_"Frisk.. I'm still worried about you. I have a bad feeling. I've asked around and no one has seen you, or knows where you are. Please call me back. Something bad has not happened has it? One of the humans warned me that something called 'kidnapping' is possible to happen up here on the surface... You are not in danger are you? Please.. call me back whenever you get this message..."_ Worry was clear in her voice, and it slightly wavered at the end, as if Toriel was trying to hold back tears.

Flowey listened to the voicemail the entire time, leaving his magic attack threateningly in the air, just daring Frisk to do something stupid, "Drop. The. Phone..." Flowey growled out threateningly, face morphing to a darkly fanged scowl. He didn't have time anymore. If Frisk's phone wasn't destroyed they would definitely call back, especially with a call like that.

Yeah, it was reassuring and shockingly heart-wrenching to hear their mom's voice again. They had mostly kept their cool, but hearing their mother choked up like that made them so incredibly guilty. If they dropped their phone, it was going to be destroyed. If it was going to be like that, then... They held their phone to their chest and gave Flowey's murderous look a determined, teary glare.

It was now or never, and if they didn't comply he wouldn't hesitate to attack and kill Frisk to make them reset, buying him even more time before they started to worry again.

"No." They said, and their soul sparked as they braced themselves to die for the first time in years.

Flowey's fanged scowl slowly morphed into a smile, not even hesitating to fire all of his pellets towards their soul, instantly summoning another ring around them again and again to force a reset…

Although the last ring paused in the air for a moment, his smile waivering ever so slightly... but only for a moment.

What he was doing was wrong, and he knew it. The faint memory of everyone's feelings for Frisk lingered on his mind, causing him to hesitate. He... didn't actually want to kill them. He just wanted them to stay.

At any cost.

And with that last thought, he fired the ring of pellets, but the ring wasn't entirely a complete circle like the other ones. If they rolled forward they would avoid the hit entirely.

The thing about fighting Flowey was that he could break the usual combat monsters had; he could fire bullets that were impossible to dodge until they were dead- but as Frisk felt the bullets tear through them they remembered this usually came at a cost. The last killing ring always had some sort of flaw.

They could sense attack magic quite clearly, and so the gap wasn’t lost to them-they quickly rolled through it. And they didn’t waste time bolting down the hallway towards the front door.

They doubted they could reason with Flowey right now. It would be better if a chase wore him out, right? They might have died many times, but that didn’t mean they wanted to do so again!

Flowey stayed still for a moment as they fled, not taking chase, if only for a few moments. He had expected them to die, but they didn't... they dodged his last attack, why-

Why did he hesitate? He could have made the last attack just as unavoidable. He could have killed them.

Well. Frisk only had 1 place to really go right?

He dipped into the ground, before heading straight to the cave-in at the barrier. If Frisk wanted out then they'd eventually have to head here. It didn't matter where they ran off to. He was patient, he could wait.

Frisk did not go down the stairs towards the exit- instead they ran straight out the front door of Asgore’s house. They ran to the middle of the large front yard cave but slowed to a stop when they realized Flowey wasn’t chasing them.

They looked around, wondering why he hadn’t followed. They made their way to a pile of grey leaves and controlled their breathing. Slowly, they calmed down until the SAVE POINT appeared. They reached out dizzily, having 1 HP made them really drowsy-they really didn’t understand how Sans handled it. Plus they were losing a lot of blood. And so they touched the SAVE POINT to heal themselves completely, and, with a moment of hesitation, they also SAVED.

_*There’s no turning back now, but you still stay determined._

Frisk put their other hand over their phone, took a few more breaths, gathered their thoughts, sat in the eternally crinkly leaves, and called Toriel.


	3. Save You

Flowey waited patiently at the barrier, and frowned when Frisk didn't come. Damnit, they probably ran off to call somebody didn't they...?

…

That's okay, if either he or someone else died then there would be no way that they wouldn't reset.

Anyone that came to save them would come through here. He was Determined to win this... and if he waited, he would win. He had to.

Toriel answered within half a ring, _"Frisk? Is that you?"_ Her voice sounded hopeful, as well as slightly panicked. Clearly the fact that Frisk hadn't answered worried her even more, _"Please tell me you are okay my child. Where are you?"_

“...” Ah. They had forgotten to answer. Frisk briefly felt like they were a child again, only speaking when they absolutely had to, not even telling their friends their name... they smiled a bit sadly.

“Hey Mom.” Frisk said, and realized their voice had a bit of an echo in here. Well, sh- nonono, stay focused. They sighed. “I’m alright. Before you get mad at me, please listen to me.” They got up, walking out to the street of New Home instead. The birds that had long decided to roost in New Home were singing, they realized blankly. They sniffed but kept their voice steady, clear, and serious.

 _"..."_ Toriel paused. She sat down in her rocking chair, waiting for them to explain themself. She heard birds in the background, meaning Frisk was outside somewhere right? A slight sniff could be heard from Frisk... hopefully just allergies...

“I need to take care of something. Something you nor anyone else can know about. I’ll check in with you often, I’ll do my homework. But I need to ask you something really selfish... will you trust me? Will you help me if I ask for advice? I... need help with this, but I don’t need to be saved.” They gripped their phone tightly, “Please believe in me, Mom. I need to do this alone. When I come home, you can be as mad at me as you want.”

They were eventually getting out of here, with or without Flowey. And then they’d come back and help him find his happiness.

Even if they had to fight with Flowey for the rest of their life.

 _"I trust you Frisk,"_ she replied simply, pausing for a moment. Her voice still rang with worry, but it wasn't as shaky, _"If you need anything, call me okay?.... and... you can trust me to Frisk. If you need help with anything, I'm here for you. That's what mothers are for, are they not?"_ Her voice slowly started to sound a bit lower and saddened, _"You can tell me what's going on you know. I won't try to stop you. If I learned anything it's that you can handle yourself. I will put my worries and expectations aside for you again if you ask me to. I just want to know that you're okay... you don't have to keep me in the dark about this, and if you need advice I will more than gladly provide it..."_

Frisk doubted that their mother could follow through with those words if she knew the truth. But the faith that Toriel had in them gave them such a rush of relief and confidence that they held back more tears so they wouldn't sound choked up. They loved her so much.

"Ahem!" They cleared their throat so their voice didn't break, "Thank you, Mom! I have to earn the trust of a very... stubborn person. For their own health. So I'll be sure to ask for your help again when I get stuck." A smile appeared on their face as they spoke, Flowey was really stubborn wasn't he? They didn't dislike it about him. "Again, thank you. Feel free to text me whenever, I'll get back to you when I can, and if my phone dies... I'll try messaging you through the undernet. I think Papyrus knows an app for it." A half-formed plan was forming in their head in case Flowey managed to destroy their phone.

 _And now I don't want to hang up._ Frisk thought, _I really have gotten attached to everyone…_

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

 _"... okay... and.. if it helps... when trying to earn someone's trust, be sure to give them space when they need it,"_ Toriel had no idea that bit of advice wouldn't work well with Flowey, especially since he didn't seem to want Frisk being out of sight, _"... and always be honest with them. And Frisk... before you go... for school tomorrow do you think you would be able to 'video chat'? Sans told me it's a feature phones have. Apparently you can use it to watch class from your phone. I do not know how to use it, but he told me that you probably know."_

  
Flowey grew more and more impatient as he waited.

Where were they...? They... weren't trying to find another way out where they?

He glanced around, a worried expression showing on his face for a moment.

…

Maybe he should- no. If he didn't watch the exit and Frisk came along? Then he wouldn't be able to stop them from leaving. He had to wait here. They would come... they had to... right?

At the mention of giving Flowey space, Frisk wondered if that was really a good idea. Even now they felt like he was going to be really mad when they found him again. They should uh... probably go and find out where he was moping ASAP.

"Ohhh, facetime? I can do that. I'll try to make it in time to watch your wonderful class teaching at the very least~." Frisk lilted. Yes, they were trying to flatter their mom. "Just put your phone's camera where I can see the class and then call me. I gotta go now, but I'll see you then! Love you."

 _"Love you too Frisk,"_ Toriel responded simply, allowing Frisk to end the call.

Frisk wasn't sure that they'd make it to the class tomorrow, but they'd take responsibility if they couldn't. They put their phone away and went into Asgore's house, bracing themselves to be grabbed or something terrible, but it was... quiet? They blinked and explored the house.

"Flowey?" They called. No answer. That was kinda... really weird. They looked closely at the buttercups in pots scattered about the house, checked every room, and then eventually made their way downstairs.

"Okay, if I were Flowey, what sort of paranoid thought would I be thinking after that?" They asked themselves.

"Why- ahum-" They made their voice high-pitched, "'Why didn't I kill that dumb human for disobeying me???'"

They paused, if he was watching them right now he'd be really mad and come out to yell at them, right? But nobody came.

"Oh, great, now it's the isolation treatment." They grumbled, rubbing their throat with their hand. Ugh, they really talked a lot today and that fake Flowey voice didn't do any favors.

 _He thinks I want to... he probably thinks that I think that I called someone and I have to meet them to escape and never come back? Or maybe he does actually need space?_ They wondered as they walked through the judgement hall. Uh, quickly speedwalked through it. Baaaad memory alert.

They coughed outright and called loudly into the field of flowers in the throne room, "Flooooooowwwwweeeeeyyyyy!!!!"

Yeah, there was no answer. Frisk kept going, a bit worried now. Where was he?

Flowey had tried to keep himself preoccupied by burrowing back and forth in front of the cave-in. It was so boring waiting for Frisk, and he didn't even know for sure if they would come. He hoped they did, because in all honesty he didn't want them finding another way out. He heard footsteps approaching, he would move to pop up right in front of the cave-in, a wide default smile on his face. A look of relief appeared on their face as they exhaled.

"Geez, there you are! Leave a note or something before you disappear like that." Frisk whined. It probably wasn't a good idea to talk here, "Let's go to the throne room?" They suggested. They were so relaxed, it was like he hadn't even tried to kill them before.

Flowey was extremely relieved upon seeing them, but unfortunately for Frisk he didn't have an all to happy plan for them.

They wanted him to go to the throne room... probably so when people came to blow up the rocks that blocked the exit he wouldn't get hurt. No, he wasn't going to allow any of that to happen. If anybody came then at least 1 person was dying, because then Frisk would reset.

He dipped into the ground, popping up in front of them, "Golly, you must have called a lot of your friends to have taken so long..." he gave a smug look, did.. he shake slightly for a moment? No, it must have been his imagination. He wasn't scared they would succeed in getting away right?

…

…

"Golly, you don't even look worried! Hehe... it's like you're confident that your friends will be able to help you!" He had no idea that Frisk didn't call for help, and his own selfish mindset told him Frisk only came to try and get out, not to look for him.

He had to get their phone, he had to destroy it, or at least make sure nobody could contact them and figure out where they were. As he spoke, he summoned more pellets around them, clearly not having good intentions in mind for Frisk.

Alright, talking it out here it was.

"I talked to my mom. It calmed me down." Might as well admit it outright here if Flowey wasn't going anywhere. It seemed they weren't going anywhere either, as long as Flowey had his death pellet circle. "I did ask for advice. I don't think 'give you space' is a good idea in this situation, right?" They asked with a smile, crouching down to talk to him at eye-level. They weren't about to hand over their phone but ironically they weren't so afraid of dying if it made their point. This wasn't a fight that could really be solved by trying over and over...

"I'm gonna end up talking to her again if you kill me... the same conversation..." They realized out loud, tiredly. _'Be honest'_ Toriel had told them. And so they were honestly just saying whatever came to mind. Maybe next time they'd ask for different advice…

Flowey paused, a confused expression forming on his face as Frisk crouched down in front of him, "Wait... you... didn't call for help out of here? Why? I just told you I'm making sure you stay here forever and you're not going to even try to escape!?" Flowey's pellets wavered, and then fell harmlessly to the ground, "I... I don't understand... why...? Do... do you want to stay down here with me..?" He was frowning now, the same confused expression holding on his face when Flowey had asked them why they were being so nice to them. When Frisk had spared him after a neutral run despite having threatened to kill everyone they loved and cared about. He didn't understand why Frisk didn't call for help. They didn't actually want to stay here forever did they? They didn't.... want to leave him?

He lost the will to fight.

Flowey was Sparing Frisk... at least, for the time being anyways. It seemed like Toriel's advice of being honest was working for the time being at least.

Flowey... believed them? Just like that? Frisk wasn't relieved, confusion passing over their face in a frown when he didn't ignore their ranting and just kill them.

"As I said before, I don't mind staying here as long as I can keep in contact with my friends via my phone, or some other device." They said honestly, "Hey, maybe I can try building something you could use too?" They shrugged, but seemed a bit hopeful, "Then we can call each other if we get lost instead of running around blindly... and... um..." Could they push this topic that far? No, no, they couldn't. Not yet. "Or we could just lay on the floor here and feel like garbage." They grumbled and then huffed in amusement when they realized they actually did sorta want to do that at the moment. They had absolutely no plan except for their honesty. It was kinda nice, but really... awkward.

Flowey wasn't sure why they believed them either in all honesty. It was probably because he just wanted to believe they wouldn't want to leave him.

Of course if anyone did come he would never trust them again. That much was for sure.

"..." he sulked a bit, looking away from them. Frisk must care about him a lot to be okay with him trapping them down here.

…

He should test them, see if what they're saying is true. If they were truly okay with staying as they claimed, then they wouldn't want to leave even if he let them right?

"... And if I let you go, would you choose to leave or stay?" He paused, and then looked at the rocks that blocked the exit, "I could make an opening to let you out. I... It's not right for me to trap you down here. I know you're lying. You aren't okay with staying down here. Who would be? You're just saying that to be nice..." If they accepted, he fully planned to squash them. The ultimate test.

"So... I guess... before I change my mind I should let you go... right?" He turned to look at Frisk, although now it was just a worried frown.

Flowey just had to do that, didn't he? Throw a wrench into their long term plans and suddenly turn around to let them go for apparently no reason. And it was so, so tempting. They wanted to see and talk to their friends again, to see Toriel again and reassure her that they were okay. Their phone would never truly be a replacement for being around their friends. They looked longingly at the rocks, tougher than any magical barricade. In that moment, it didn't occur to them that Flowey would just crush them if they tried. Frisk was allowed to leave.

"Huh, really?" Frisk said, and got up to walk out... out of the room. Out back into the hallway that lead to the throne room, so they weren't even tempted to take another step towards the rocks. So they could think. They slapped their own cheeks, trying to snap out of it.

_Focus, Frisk. Think about why you're here. Why you haven't tried to leave. Why you haven't called for help. Don't you remember what you've done to him?_

That save point was right. There was no going back now.

"Come on Flowey, you're in dire need of a phone. Maybe we can find something in Alphys's lab?" Frisk called.

Flowey heard footsteps, but... the wrong way? He looked up to watch Frisk head towards the throne room, his eyes widening in shock. What the-!?

He stayed completely still in utter silence, stunned from their action. They... were staying? Even after his act?

…

Flowey paused, and then ducked into the soil to chase after them, a wide smile forming on his face. Frisk wanted to stay! They really wanted to stay!!

He popped up in front of them. Frisk paused in their steps.

"Golly, I certainly didn't expect you to honestly be telling the truth! Unless... you knew?" He gave a slightly thoughtful look, before shaking his head as Frisk shook their own head in unison. No, Frisk wouldn't have known he was going to kill them if they tried to leave. How could they have known? They didn't reset, he would have known if they did.

"I'll let you keep your phone, but the moment ya change your mind about all this it dies, got it?" He winked playfully at them, before smiling in joy once more, bobbing a bit in the soil. He seemed rather happy despite being soulless, that or perhaps he was just excited? Maybe even simply just satisfied at the result. Either way, it seems he much preferred Frisk staying over leaving. He also didn't explain what Frisk may have 'known'.

Frisk knew what he was talking about; they had played around with their reset power before after all. He would’ve remembered. Whatever future scenario he was talking about, they didn’t know.

Was he... dancing? Frisk had never seen him this happy. They felt bad that they were the one that made him so lonely.

“It’s a deal then.” They said, grinning, still happy they were able to earn at least some of his trust. Well, unless he was lying and waiting for a chance to snatch their phone. If that happened, uh... well, they shouldn’t dwell on it right now.

Frisk did indeed earn his trust by that action. He had no plan on destroying their phone for the time being, in fact he actually began to wonder if there was a way to charge it for them. He had magic, so he could charge it somehow right? He'd probably ask Frisk about it later, especially since they made it clear they were okay with staying, so long as they could keep in contact with their friends.

"Yup it's a deal, you're staying here forever!" He chimed out happily. Frisk tried not to show their disagreement when Flowey said that. They didn't want to stay down here forever. But... they'd stay for a while. The future wasn't set in stone, thank goodness.  
  
"Oh yeah, tomorrow I’m gonna watch my mom’s class with my phone. It’ll only take about an hour. Thought I’d warn you ahead of time.”

Flowey frowned a bit at the thought of Frisk taking their attention off of him for that long. It sure would be a boring hour wouldn't it? Oh, maybe if he watched it with them, it would be interesting?

The smile returned after a moment, "Can I watch your class to? It would be better than just waiting around bored for an hour."

"Yeah." Frisk replied, "But you can't talk. I mean, unless you want the class to hear you." They really wouldn't mind if Flowey chose to reveal himself like that, but it was up to him. Facetime took video both ways, so they'd cover up the camera with something.

Flowey looked thoughtful at being told he couldn't talk unless they wanted the class to hear him... and then just for fun morphed his face into one of Asgore's, his voice following suit, "Howdy, I hope you don't mind the fact I kidnapped Frisk and locked them in the basement Tori. They're staying with me until you go on a date with me."

He was playing around sure, but he started to wonder what would happen if he actually did that during their class time. It would be rather interesting to see what Toriel would do at least.

Frisk blinked a few times at the face and voice... and burst out laughing. "Don't do that!!! O-h my gosh!!!" Their voice broke a bit, both from overuse and inflection, "Toriel would freak!"

They could deal with that if Toriel didn't like... instantly storm out of class and murder her ex-husband or something. Oh, geez. They couldn't even take the idea seriously, a fit of snickers shaking them.

"I guess this situation does count as a really, really long date." Frisk joked slyly.

His face went back to normal, laughing a bit in amusement at Frisk's reaction, "I bet Toriel would go and flame his entire house if I did that haha! I don't think he would get a date. At least from her. What would you do if I did that during your class though?" He titled his head a bit in curiosity, eyes studying Frisk, almost as if he planned on doing just that. In fact, he kinda did now that the thought came to mind. The chaos would be rather fun after all. "And this isn't a date, just gonna put that out there right now," Flowey decided to add rather quickly.

Frisk snickered in a conspiring manner, but decided to grant mercy to Flowey about teasing him. For now.

"I would... probably smack you with my notebook!" They huffed, "And say, 'Hey, dude, don't do that!' really loudly. Cause' you shouldn't do that. She'll get mad." If he did, they were certain they could handle it, but they would prefer it if they didn't have to handle it at all. And in case they couldn't, if everything went really wrong, well... Frisk's face fell a bit. They would highly prefer not to do that option. That was for when things were unsalvageable, and might even make their situation worse. Would, actually. They hadn't told Flowey yet…

"You wouldn't smack me if I dodged it, but of course she would get mad," Flowey challenged, as if confident he could dodge any attack they sent at him.

He looked a bit curious at them though as their face fell. Why did they show that expression? Surely they didn't hate the idea of smacking him that much?

"I hope it's not a date, cause' I think the mud from yesterday is becoming my second skin." They joked, marching around Flowey, "To the Lab!" They pointed ahead with an invisible sword.

He watched them as Frisk marched around him, before deciding to smile. Oh the lab eh? He could try to have some fun with this trip.

Flowey followed, giving a default smile, "Ya know, we should go through the true lab shortcut. Last I went down there I think I saw a single amalgamate that got left behind," he lied, "It hasn't been fed in a while. I wonder if it'll try to eat you?"

Of course none of them got left behind. Alphys took all of them out of the lab and brought them to their families, but Frisk wouldn't know that right? He wasn't sure, but either way he was curious to how they'd react.

"An amalgamate? I'm surprised it's not dead..." They said, and sped up their walking to a run, "I'll meet you by the elevator, alright?" They called.

They had a feeling Flowey was tricking them... Well, they would find out why when they got there. The idea of being in the True Lab gave them goosebumps. Something about that place was incredibly... off. It was more creepy than the amalgamates were when they first met them... But they had to make sure!

Flowey watched them take off into a run at the idea of an amalgamate being trapped down there still. He had expected that reaction.... and it caused him to frown a bit. Frisk wasn't becoming predictable were they? No, it was just this 1 time. Besides, they just told him they wanted to stay, and proved it. They still surprised him at times, meaning that they'd still be interesting to be around.

He ducked into the ground, and reappeared at the elevator, "Boy are you in a hurry!" He called out, smiling widely, "I mean, running won't make a difference if one lives or dies right? I don't think that abomination even can die with how it was made. It's soul has DETERMINATION in it after all," he winked playfully at them, "Who cares if it's hungry?"

Instead of being angry, Frisk looked ready for the question and started to speak, cleared their throat, and tried speaking again, "J-ust because something can't die doesn't mean they should suffer!"

 _Yeah Flowey, that means you too._ Frisk thought warmly.

Geez, they really hoped they didn't lose their voice. Or maybe they were getting sick? That'd really suck. They pressed the elevator button and got in, waving to Flowey as the doors closed.

Flowey watched the doors close. Just because it couldn't die didn't mean it had to suffer? Of course there wasn't any down there but... that made him frown slightly, his frown slightly visible before the elevator doors completely shut.

... Just because he died didn't mean he had to suffer as well. How come everyone else could get a happy ending and not him? Even the other failed experiments Alphys created got happy endings with their families. Sure he didn't deserve it, and it wasn't even possible for him to get but... it would be nice if he were able to stay whole again, instead of being an empty shell. It didn't matter though. He was going to be empty for as long as he chose to keep living, he had no SOUL so that's how it had to be. Alphys refused to help him back when he could reset. She was afraid of him, of making his life worse than it already was. He had threatened her time and time again to try and make her fix him, killing her and resetting to try and give her a deja vu warning.

It never worked though. She never wanted to help him in fear of making his life even worse. Even Asgore couldn't get her to help.

He recalled it was only after that point that he tried killing monsters over and over again to see what happened. Huh. Alphys was his first kill now that he thought about it.

He had killed her mainly out of curiosity, to see if it would make her help him, or at least try.  
He knew it had been wrong but... he just had to know what would happen, to see if he could be helped.

It didn't matter. Nobody could truly help him now.

With that thought, he sunk into the ground, and popped up back in the true lab. He didn't wait in front of the elevator though. Instead, he was off down the hallway, fully planning to try and scare them.

There was a dusty fog in the true lab. At some point the ventilation had failed, and as a result the place became musty with a strong smell of mold.

It likely was very hard to see more than a few feet in front of yourself with how much dust floated in the air as well.

Flowey waited patiently to hear the elevator door open, and as soon as it did he would act. His face morphed into an amalgamate to mimic one of their encounter sounds slowly and softly. This would spook them right? He hoped so.

As the doors opened again and dust and mildew pretty much smacked them in the face, Frisk coughed and put their shirt collar over their nose. The smell was familiar, and not in a good way. Their skin crawled. They honestly hated the True Lab the most out of any area in the underground, and Flowey was probably lying to them, but they had to check now... Not only was this place dark and hard to breathe in on a good day, they also had hallucinated so many things that they couldn't explain. They had tried to talk about it with Alphys, but Alphys was a coward and wasn't comfortable talking about this place. And so Frisk had bottled it up, like they did with many memories. If Alphys wasn't comfortable talking about it, then who would be?

They continued forward, squinting through the dust that was kicked up by their movements.

"Floooowwweeeeyyyy..." They called, a bit quietly, feeling like they were walking into someone's bedroom while they were asleep. The unstable static-buzzing sound in this place put them on edge the further they walked into the darkness.

Flowey heard them call his name, a wide grin on his face as he decided to voice act being attacked.

His face morphed to an amalgamate one, letting out a loud amalgamate-like sound, before returning to normal, "Ah- Get away from me you creep!! I'm not food shoo!" He made sure to have his voice growl out in anger, even summoning some pellets and shooting them into the ground to try and make it sound even more real.

Frisk was momentarily relieved that someone else was really there, before running towards Flowey's voice only to find him alone. Was he hallucinating??? Or was something really there? They didn't comment at first, looking around in the darkness suspiciously.

"Is it invisible?" They asked, before taking out their phone, turning on the flashlight, and shining it around. They quickly turned it off- it was somehow even harder to see with it on…

Flowey smirked, "Hehe! I got ya!" Flowey moved his head to bump into their leg, "Alphys didn't leave anybody behind. No one but a bunch of empty flowers!" Of course, he didn't just mean himself. He also meant the prototypes that didn't take to determination. The flowers that didn't react at all.

The flowers that didn't have any of his or anyone else's dust on them....

"Boy did I trick you!" Flowey let out another small giggle, clearly amused.

"Aw, geez Flowey." Frisk sighed, but was somewhat amused that he was seemed proud of himself. They could make out the vending machine, now currently broken, and looked to the left of it slowly... to them, it felt like the buzzing white noise was slowly turning to static... and they could make out a voice.

_> >>C o- coemoc eomeco<<<_

"I-'m gonna look around then! Haven't been here in years!" They said with forced cheer, refusing to believe they were gradually becoming terrified. It was just a dumb hallucination!

Flowey paused, and then decided to follow them. Why would Frisk want to explore this dump? It probably was going to get them sick. He popped up in front of them, "Did you know this is where I was created?" Flowey decided to ask, figuring a conversation would be nice. After all, it was rather hard to see anything. Hearing Frisk talk would help locate them.

"I... kinda figured that it was where you were created. The screens here used to log Alphys's stuff about her experiments..." Frisk said, the screens on the wall briefly flickering to show a red smile as they walked down the hallway. Could their hallucinations at least light up the darkness? 

_> >Cosl-lcsorecloser<<_

Actually, they were a bit grateful for the darkness as they started to shake and their heart thundered. _My curiosity is cursed._ They thought. They walked closer.

"Yup. And did you know she refused to try and help me? I could even bring her inches from her life... and she would just start apologizing and saying that she couldn't help me..." he frowned a bit, sounding a bit annoyed, "No matter how many times I tried, nothing could make her even attempt to help me. She's a useless scientist," Flowey grumbled out the last bit.

He didn't seem to be able to hear what Frisk was hearing, simply following them through the lab, "It's why I know I can't be saved. And... you know if you're only staying here because you think I can be... then you're wrong. You saved me before but it was only temporary. You won't be able to save me again, not while I'm empty."

“Alphys is...” It was so hard to think right now, but Frisk did it, their voice almost... dreamy in quality, “She’s put back by her fear... She doesn’t think she can do anything right when she’s scared, I think... And sometimes she even makes it seem true.” They said, closing their eyes for a moment. They could still see figures in the fog, and one was coming closer. Three, actually.

They had an answer for what Flowey said. They really did. But as Memoryheads appeared before them, their tongue felt too thick in their mouth, and their soul even flickered into sight like they had just encountered a battle.

“... I’m gonna have to ask you to hold that thought... so I can answer properly. I think I’m hallucinating really badly.” They admitted with a shaky laugh.

Flowey looked a bit confused as Frisk started to speak slower, pausing mid sentence to regain themself. And... then they went silent.

"Frisk?" He asked, before they replied with asking him to hold his thought, that they thought they were hallucinating, "How are you hallucinating? And why?" He sounded rather confused, and watched as their soul flickered out. But... there was nobody here. He already scoped the place many times when he was all by himself. Who were they fighting? Him?

... actually he kinda wanted to see what they did. He wasn't going to save them from this, not unless they passed out. In fact, Flowey decided to play along! He ducked into the ground before popping back up right in front of Frisk. He summoned some white pellets and fired them slowly towards their soul. Not a ring of them, just 2 or 3 stray bullets.

“Well... I can see something, a monst-?” They sensed bullets coming towards their soul, and at the same time more bullet dots appeared and exploded out into faces. They moved out of the way of Flowey’s bullets and ducked a ‘Freak Bullet’ but another one of them hit them- causing their soul to flicker like it had been hit. If CHECKED, it would seem their HP had actually gone down!

“Really not helping!” They cried out, and took out their phone. To them, it was making intense staticy voices.

_> >>Come join the fun.<<<_

They jumped back from more of the bullets, right into an examination table, and rolled back over it into their feet in a very loud, clattery manner. They hissed as one of the Freak Bullets hit their back.

“I’m not going to join you!” They shouted into their phone.

Flowey didn't check Frisk, honestly assuming that they just simply got hit from one of his own bullets. After all... he couldn't really see them all too well, or his own bullets, "What do you mean I'm not helping? I'm not doing anything... promise!" He giggled a bit, a darkly fanged smile forming on his face. He didn't care if Frisk died from this. They'd just reset, it was no big deal right? Might as well have some fun!

He summoned even more bullets, just 2 that fired rather quickly straight towards their soul.

_> >Such a pity.<<_

Frisk ducked under an exam table and slammed into a wall in their rush to get away from the bullets. Even in their terrible mix of anger, frustration, and fear, curiosity still reared its ugly head as they looked to one of the memoryheads, who was offering them something. They reached out and took it.

That’s when one of Flowey’s bullets hit. Ouch! They sidestepped the second one. Luckily after that, the fight was over as the memoryheads faded.

The Bad Memory was tangible, stuck to their hand. They wondered if Flowey could see it.

“Okay this field trip’s over! I’m going back upstairs!” They declared, agitated, “Will you quit it Flowey! I know what your magic feels like!”

Flowey was highly amused as he heard them slam into the wall, and even more so as one of the bullets hit him. Boy, they must be having some hallucination huh? That was until Frisk stated that the field trip was over, that they were going back upstairs and to quit it. Flowey wasn't too amused at that. He thought the fun would last longer. How boring!

"Oh come on I was having fun," Flowey protested, a frown on his face forming, despite Frisk likely not being able to see him, "And it's not every day I see someone go crazy down here," he then smiled, deciding to throw a joke out there, that he somewhat hoped Frisk didn't take too seriously, "I'm supposed to be the only one going crazy all alone down here after all!" He then grew a vine from the ground, moving it towards Frisk as to help guide them to the exit.

A heavy weight settled on them at Flowey’s joke. The guilt gave them some clarity. But it didn’t last long, they could feel something getting closer.

 _Maybe you should stay and find out what it is._ Frisk thought, and the thought made the Bad Memory in their hand fizzle. They took a very brisk walk back to the elevator, almost tripping over Flowey’s vine as they did so.

“Remind me to never come down here again.” Frisk grumbled moodily, “Thanks for leading me back, by the way.”

They pressed a button to open the elevator doors, and blinked rapidly at the light shining from it. "You were so eager to come down here though!" Flowey teased, knowing full well they only went this way because of his lie. He also didn't seem to mind that his vine almost tripped them, and decided now would be a great time to just uproot himself and follow Frisk into the elevator. Huh, he never did this in front of Frisk before now did he? His roots and vines allowed him to quickly move into the elevator. When Flowey uprooted himself, Frisk decided that they were still hallucinating and just kind of accepted this. When did the elevator get so shaky? They swayed on their feet.

Frisk held their hand to the light, where the Bad Memory was. It was actually tangible. Their encounter had created an actual ITEM that Flowey could see. It looked a lot like... a lump of solid static. Flowey paused and stared at the lump of static in their hand. 

“It’s so annoying.” Frisk grumbled, convinced it was still a hallucination, and then popped the Bad Memory into their mouth. They winced as it took off a bit more HP, and coughed at the ???? taste. Flowey stared at them in confusion, not even caring that he, himself, likely looked to be in an odd state himself. I mean, what flower wouldn't look odd walking around with vines/roots? 

"Where in the world did you get that fizz, and why did you eat it?" He decided to ask, wondering silently if that's what Frisk had saw in their hallucination. 

“I got it from the hallucination. Uh. It’s part of it. I can’t get rid of it unless I eat it.” Frisk said simply, “Wait, you could see it...?” They blinked at Flowey a few times in a sort of dreamy wonder, wondering if he was a hallucination for a moment. No, Flowey hallucinations were probably less friendly. Then... he just uprooted himself?

"You can't gain stuff from hallucinations... that's... that's not how that works," he looked confused, "And yeah, I could see it...."

Flowey didn't seem to notice the elevator shaking, but he did notice Frisk swaying on their feet. Where they going to pass out? That wouldn't be to fun.

“You look like an octopus.” Frisk noted with the dumbest grin. They were just a bit woozy. They looked out and frowned at the open doors. They thought the elevator was already moving but it seemed they hadn’t even pressed any buttons yet, so they pressed the button for the upper lab. Flowey paused at being called an octopus, before smiling brightly, and moving a tentacle vine to tap their forehead, "Ya know you're acting like you're about to fall over. If you do, just don't fall towards me because I can't duck into any soil to avoid being squished," he gave a neutral expression, studying them, "And if that happens I'm going to kill you."

"Well..." Frisk was going somewhere with this, but they couldn't remember what their point was. They couldn't understand why the encounter made an actual item... Maybe some things would forever remain a mystery. They swayed a bit at the tent-, vine tap, before leaning on the wall of the elevator. "Okay okay, I'll fall in a way that won't inconvenience you." They said with a small chuckle.

Flowey tilted his head, "Golly, you should really lay down..." As amusing as this was he wasn't sure Frisk should be standing. You didn't typically choose where you fall after all.

Oh, yeah, their point. They held out their hands in a cup-like manner and focused, closing their eyes. "Might have to do with..." Their memories went back to the past, when they could feel the love and dreams of everyone around them, and thought about why they were here now. They had a dream to pursue. After a few seconds, a small star-like object that looked like a mini save point appeared in their hands.

"Human magic." Frisk said, as if that explained everything, and walk-stumbled out of the elevator.

Flowey's seen the star before. Frisk was consuming it during their battle with Asriel.

Flowey was frozen, slowly crawling out and staring at it as they exited the elevator... Without much warning he tried to crawl up Frisk and grab the star from them. They were woozy and out of it, what could possibly go wrong from this action? Besides, the small star reminded him of when he was whole, when he was fighting Frisk with the total power of 7 human souls in his grasp.

…

Perhaps it could help him to? He wasn't sure, and he knew that Frisk probably wouldn't know what in the world they were doing whenever they were sober again. He was too curious about it to let this opportunity pass him up.

"Yeah. I'll just..." They made their way to the dog kibble so they could faceplant on it before their body decided that nope, it was time to sleep even if they were standing! Flowey easily took the star from them. They didn't even seem to notice they were still holding it. Normally, they wouldn't even make things with their magic, but they were out-of-it.

If CHECKED, the star would indicate: LastDream-The goal of "Determination." Heals 12 HP. It was warm to the touch, like holding someone's hand.

Frisk got off the dog food when they realized they were going to smell like dog food if they fell asleep on it, going to sit on the chair instead and resting their arms and head on the table. They peeked out at Flowey, but even if they saw him holding their LastDream they didn't seem to mind it.

"Hey, Flowey...? What does being saved mean to you?"

Flowey was staring at the star, not even looking to Frisk as they face planted into the dogfood. He held it carefully within his vines, a slightly longing look as he checked it. Of course, it only healed HP, but at least it felt a bit warm to the touch. It was nice to hold.

He paused, looking over to Frisk as they asked what being saved meant to him, before looking down at the star, a neutral expression on his face, "... Being whole again, that's what it means to be saved. Being able to feel love and compassion, to not be an empty shell of what I one was..." He sighed, and then looked over to Frisk, giving them a slightly forced smile, his expression on his face even making it clear that it was forced, "I don't care about the surface. The surface means nothing to me, and even if I go there I won't be happy, it'll only just mean I'm not bored. There's no point in exploring a world where I can't love those I should be able to care about, where I'll end up just toying with everyone's lives for my own amusement. There's no way for me to be saved though. Alphys won't help me, and no one else has experimented with determination with monster souls I'd imagine... Saving me is impossible."

He stared at them for a moment, before looking back down to the star. It was a reminder of a time he was whole again, if only for a moment. He didn't want to let the dream go, even if it didn't make him feel any better.

Frisk remembered when Flowey told them about something similar- trying desperately to feel love, failing... trying to kill himself... failing that too, but finding about his own power... They could make themselves numb to love, but to forget about it entirely... they would never comprehend Flowey's pain. Maybe it was because the Memoryheads had made them incredibly tired, but they couldn't help but cry. They hid their face back in their arms. Flowey wouldn't want to see them cry for him. He didn't want to be pitied.

"Is love really the only reason to live...?" They asked, somewhat muffled as they tried to discreetly wipe their face on their sleeve before peeking out again, "I don't see why someone can't be... both entertained and also a good person..."

Flowey looked at them and tilted his head, "You wouldn't understand Frisk," He said simply, a neutral expression hanging on his face, "You didn't die to just wake up and not be able to care about anybody, to lose your body and be trapped inside of a flower. You know... Asgore held me in his arms and cried when I told him what had happened, and I couldn't care less. If he died I wouldn't cry or be even upset about it... I just couldn't care about anybody," Frisk was crying, but he didn't really care. He hated that he couldn't feel any kind of sympathy or empathy towards them, but it was something he had already grown used to, "And I can be a good person if I wanted to. It honestly wouldn't be that hard if I'm being honest, it's just I don't think I should fake being a good person if I'm not a good person anymore."

He paused for a moment, before letting out a sigh, "I guess... the closest you could get to it was when you had a lot of LOVE... Do you remember how that was? And do you know how you are now? Imagine if you were trapped in that state, the state of being a high LV and detached from your soul. Imagine being stuck that way no matter what you tried to do, no matter the reset, no matter the effort. Being empty isn't fun, and you end up losing yourself after being trapped for so long."

Flowey looked at the star once more, "... I was supposed to be dead, understand? I wasn't supposed to come back..."

Flowey knew that Frisk was still in a woozy state, that they wouldn't likely remember anything he told them.... but that's why he was telling them right? Because they wouldn't remember, because he didn't care?

...Frisk would never understand the suffering he went through. He tried so many times to find himself, to become whole again. But the emptiness ate away at him, driving him insane until the only thought left was to follow in Chara's footsteps.

Of course it wasn't until he was on the brink of death that he realized he didn't know what happened when a monster without a soul died... and that primal fear was what let him come back, to reset. His determination to live had saved him, but also doomed him to lose himself even more with each and every reset.

Frisk imagined it. Imagined being in that state. They weren't able to speak. They weren't able to be gentle. They just wanted to see how far they could push themselves before someone could stop them. And thank the gods Sans did, because what would their world even be after that?

And Flowey was even in a worse state than that. For much longer than the few weeks they hunted down every monster they could. They wondered if they would ever be able to handle it, if they were in his shoes. If their LV was 19 again... they would just hurt everyone so they could finally be untouchable.

"... You're stronger than you think." They said, their eyes closing, "If you're alive... if you can still think... then you can change... I... want to..." They said softly, and went quiet as their breaths evened out. They were asleep.

Flowey found it a bit humorous that they fell asleep mid sentence, deciding to move closer and inspect them. Once he was satisfied that they weren't dead he decided to just lay down next to them and fall asleep also, the dream still clutched in his vines. May as well sleep so he wasn't bored right?

…

A single vine wrapped possessively around one of Frisk's wrists.


	4. Anime Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Madoka Magica Spoilers for the anime!

Frisk only slept for a few hours like this. They woke up with a 30/20 HP and a much clearer mind, and blinked sleepily. Uh... they had to do some things, right? They lifted their head and winced at the headache that punished them for a movement and their back ached for sleeping awkwardly. Okay. They weren't doing too great. They swallowed and-ow! That was a sore throat, alright.

 _Add getting water to the increasing things I gotta do._ Frisk thought. They noticed Flowey's vine around their wrist and found it both amusing and a little depressing he still didn't trust them. _Baby steps, Frisk. At least none of the doors were being barred this time._ They took out their phone and checked the time. It was around midnight on the surface. They set up a few alarms so they wouldn't miss Toriel's class, just in case they slept in for too much. Their stomach growled. Ugh, they were hungry too? They looked to Flowey. He was holding... a LastDream? They thought they only dreamed about making that Dream! Well... he could have it, if he wanted it.

Whether or not he was awake at this point they'd yawn and say, "Hey Flowey, mn' hungry. Midnight munchies." They coughed a bit into their free arm; they sounded raspy.

Flowey woke from the motion, of Frisk getting up, and then moved to break a tile open with a vine to stick his roots inside with a frown, "Alphys kinda left almost everything behind, so she should have some ramen in the fridge," he freed their wrist as he spoke, "She probably has something to drink to, but knowing her she didn't use a cup to drink from," Flowey paused, and then smiled brightly at Frisk, "Hehe... also ya know, you should go back down there sometime! It was fun watching you hallucinate!"

The vine that held the lost dream dragged it underground, as if storing it for later use. He was a bit curious if Frisk remembered the conversation they fell asleep during, but decided to not bring it up.

"..." Frisk thought of all the dark figures and the Memoryheads. They could remember them clearly. "Maybe next year." They said drily, and got up to check the fridge. "Thanks for the info. Would've been searchin' all around for food." They said as they took out some instant ramen in a cup and a bottle of soda. Ugh... they didn't like soda. Well, beggars can't be choosers. Making a face, they uncapped the sickly yellow liquid and chugged it in a few seconds, and then tore the ramen noodle packet open to bite it before their stomach rebelled.

"I have no idea how Alphys lived on this stuff." They grumbled, ramen spraying out of their mouth. Well, at least it wasn't Dog Salad. They burped and made a face. They hated carbonated drinks! Why did anyone like them?!

"Well she liked to eat it because a lot of anime characters ate it if I recall correctly," Flowey commented. He wouldn't lie, watching them have a look of disgust was amusing.

…

He really didn't want to bring up the conversation from the night before. He really didn't want to admit it but his curiosity was eating at him. Did Frisk remember? What were they going to say?  
He did a lot of stuff he didn't want to do because of his curiosity.

"Hey uh, Frisk," he gave them a neutral expression, and tilted his head a bit, "Do you remember what we were talking about before you passed out?"

He hoped they didn't, because then they'd try to tell him that he could still be saved... but then again maybe he could convince them otherwise? Could let them know his true thoughts and make them understand?

If he got them to understand how much he suffered without being able to feel compassion then perhaps they would understand that there was nothing they could do to help them. Sure they saved him once, but that was also with the help of souls inside of him. They weren't going to be able to do it again.

"Hmmm..." Frisk thought back... they couldn't remember off the top of their head, but that wasn't stopping them from reaccounting the time in the True Lab... when Flowey mentioned something about Alphys, and how she wouldn't help him. They frowned somewhat. Maybe the story was through a Flowey filter, but why would Alphys absolutely refuse to do that? They wondered if they should talk to her and get her side of things, but talking about anything serious was difficult when it came to Alphys. She got stressed easily...

Anyway, back to recalling. It felt important to recall, even as their heart rate sped up and their head hurt more at the memory of the MemoryHeads. They had gotten grumpy, said some comments to Flowey, laid their head on the desk, and... Oh, so that wasn't a dream...

They pressed their lips together. They hadn't meant to have that conversation so early. It was something they wanted to talk about later, when they trusted each other a bit more, but... well, at least it wasn't about something more iffy than that.

"Sorry, took me a moment. It was about how you can't be saved, right?" They said, much more clarity in them now. They might as well tell Flowey their goal, since he clearly stated his multiple times. "I think I didn't get my words out right. My goal here isn't to 'save' you, it's really just to help you out. In the end, I think the only one that can save you is yourself. So... I wanna be a guide. Or something like that." They took another bite of the ramen. It wasn't really all that bad dry…

"..." Flowey studied them as they tried to recall their memories from before. Were they even going to be able to recall the conversation? ... They pressed their lips together, but why?  
"..."  
Oh, so they did remember. And, their goal wasn't to save him, just to help him out? Frisk sure was weird, especially when they said that he would be the only one to save himself. Hah, like he hadn't already tried that, "Yeah, that's what we were talking about," he frowned slightly, "... But your goal is pointless. How can you help somebody that can't be saved? I can't save myself, I've already tried... it's impossible," he paused for a moment, before his face morphed into a darkly fanged grin, "If I wasn't so scared about what would happen I..." he paused, face morphing to a smile, as he instantly changed the subject. It was best not to go that route around Frisk, "Just know it's impossible to help me okay? Your goal here? It won't do anything. If you're thinking that anything about me will change then you're wrong. The only thing you're able to do here is make me not bored. _Nothing else."_

"I'm not giving up that easily. You're my friend. I want you to be happy, to find some sort of meaning." They said, unwavering. They crumpled up the ramen wrapper and tossed it to the trash in an attempt to ease the pressure somewhat. "Dang, missed..."

They couldn't leave this goal alone, whether it was escaping forever or turning off all contact and leaving the surface behind. Not after everything Flowey had done for them. Knowingly or not.

"You're wasting your time..." Flowey paused, and then watched them toss trash towards a trashcan to only miss, "How can I be happy if I'm empty. If you truly want me to be happy then you'll have to convince Alphys to fix me, because there isn't really any other way that this'll work," He rolled his eyes, "And I'll tell you right now that it'll never happen. If I couldn't get her to fix me then I doubt you can. It doesn't matter how much more confident she is now, she still tried to forget about me. When she came back for some of her," he paused, and then gave a small smile as sarcasm ran clear in his voice for the next 2 words only, "Human history documents, I tried to confront her, but she just dropped her stuff and ran!" He giggled a bit, a dark fanged smile appearing on his face, "I didn't even get to say much to her before she ran off. That's why all her stuff is still here, because she ran away from me. Because even after revealing the truth about the amalgamates she never told anyone about me! Well.. other than the smiley trashbag," he frowned slightly, "I'm the one lie that she never got the courage to tell anybody. The lie that didn't matter to keep hidden, because nobody was asking about golden flowers... it was easier for her just to forget about it," he looked to the ground. Sure, some of his story wasn't the entire truth, but they were just small details right? He didn't have to tell Frisk that he tried to grab Alphys, to scream at them to fix him or he'd kill them. That he actually attacked her, only to hold himself back to let her flee.

No, those details weren't important. Besides, just saying she ran away from him sounded a lot more fitting to her character didn't it?

Briefly, Frisk smirked at the mention of 'human history'. That was a fun way to mess with Undyne.

The rest of it... well, it felt cold to them, but they couldn't use Flowey's venting against Alphys for any conclusion. They had to get Alphys' side of the story to make one. In the meantime...

"Hmmm, contacting her now would be risky. If I ask about you directly, and I'm missing for a while... well, that's gonna line the pieces up." They decided to process their thoughts out loud, "I need to do it in a more roundabout fashion... I've already asked about Determination, but she kept avoiding the topic. Maybe if I connect it to anime..." They trailed off. Their own basic needs for sleep and drink and being clean were nagging at them and making their headache worse. They scratched their head to try to soothe it somewhat.

"I mean she wouldn't say anything..." he paused, and then looked to a camera in Alphys lab that was pointed at them, "She already knows we're here probably. That camera has been recording us since we entered her lab...." he then grinned darkly to the camera, "And she won't say anything, because she knows that means that people will know that she knows about me. And that I won't hesitate to tell people what she did hehe!" 

Just to prove his point, he would duck into the soil, and then pop up further down the room, only to have the camera move until it locked onto him, despite already looking at Frisk previously. It was almost as if someone was controlling it from somewhere else.

"Alphys is too much of a coward to say anything. She knows who I once was, and yet no one else but you knows," he giggled a bit, his darkly fanged grin vanishing into a giddy smile as he did so, "I'm not surprised she kept her connection with those cameras, especially since she knows I'm here. It's why I was always in the ruins when you visited. She doesn't have any cameras in there."

Meanwhile, despite it being near midnight, Alphys was staring at her phone, a worried expression clear on her face as she watched Flowey and Frisk. She couldn't tell what they were saying, but at the very least Frisk didn't seem to be in danger. She should tell Toriel they were there but... that would give away the fact that she knew that someone was still down there, and that she was watching them. There were no excuses that she could come up with to justify why she kept her cameras connected after all. It was the one lie that she didn't manage to tell anyone, and how could she? How could she go up to Toriel and Asgore and tell them that she brought their dead son back to life as a soulless flower. A soulless flower that had no quarrels with attacking innocent monsters? That he was the one that attacked everyone at the barrier before everything went white. That she was responsible for all of it…

And sure, she was set on telling everyone the truth now, but no one exactly had asked about the flower. No one knew about him as far as she was aware... well other than Papyrus and Sans, but neither of them asked about him. Papyrus didn't even know that she knew about him. It wasn't entirely a lie if no one asked her about it... right?

The amalgamates were a different story however. They had families that were constantly asking about them, they had homes to return to and empty questions that she left unanswered while they were in her true lab. That was something that she couldn't keep hidden, that was a lie that she had kept from everyone that she had to bring to light.

And now... Flowey was here with Frisk? He had trapped them underground and she couldn't bring herself to tell anyone. What would people think about her if she did? That she came out as someone who wasn't going to lie again, only to have kept a secret like this for so long?  
She couldn't do that again, she couldn't ruin what little trust she had built between everyone after bringing the amalgamates home. So instead, whenever Undyne wasn't around she would pull out her phone and try to locate the two of them. Try to make sure that Frisk was still okay. Flowey had never killed anyone as far as she was aware, but that didn't make him any less of a threat. She had watched him manipulate Papyrus, to toy with people's lives before Frisk came out of Snowdin. She knew he had followed Frisk the entire way... All she could do now was hope that he didn't try anything, and that he would either let her go or that Frisk would find a way out.

She thought about contacting Frisk a couple of times, but she didn't exactly want Frisk to know that she was wa-

And then Flowey ducked into the ground. Wait, where did he go?

She quickly swiped her phone screen to adjust the camera's viewpoint, until it locked back on the golden flower, who stared menacingly up towards... her... oh gosh did he know she was watching? A shiver was sent down her spine at the thought. Did that mean Frisk knew to? How long did Flowey know that she was watching them?

Frisk was about to start walking out of the lab when Flowey mentioned a camera. He moved closer to it, and after a moment they walked into sight too.

They smiled and waved to the camera.

“Hey Alphys! You probably heard my plans for you then... oops.” Frisk said in a rather sheepish way, and then took out their phone.

This was a factor they had to keep in their plans. If Alphys knew what they were doing, saw how much they got hurt, well... she’d really question their sanity. And get really stressed out. Geez, she probably saw them come out of the True Lab in that awful state! They didn’t care about getting beat up so much, but if it made their friends worry...

[You still up watching anime?] They texted Alphys. It served to see if she was actually watching them and also to reassure her that they were okay if she was. They could contact the outside world freely, after all!

Alphys then saw Frisk smile and wave at the camera. Nonononoo even Frisk knew she was watching. How long did they...?

She saw them try to speak to the camera also, did they not know it couldn't pick up sound? It was likely, otherwise they wouldn't have spoken to it right?... unless they were talking to Flowey? They seemed to be friendly with him for the most part, and she hadn't seen Flowey harm them yet. The True lab was far too musty to see what even went on down there, but it likely had gotten Frisk sick for them to have stumbled out of the elevator like they had.

Flowey laughed a bit as Frisk spoke to the camera, "You know that thing is only for video right? Alphys didn't make it record sound. Well, it used to until Sans found the camera and told it corny jokes non-stop. She disabled the sound shortly after. I don't think she re-added it either."

“What?! Oh my gosh, Sans!” Frisk laughed

He then watched them pull out their phone, "... Are you really going to text Alphys about this?" he raised an eyebrow, giving them a judging look. It was almost as if he hadn't spilled his non-existent heart out a moment ago. His mood was able to change like a simple flip of a switch.

“Why wouldn’t I?” They said mysteriously to Flowey’s judging comment,

Alphys paused, their phone buzzing with a text message. They hung a claw over the envelope icon... hesitating to touch it. Frisk didn't seem mad so... it wasn't a bad message right? She hesitated for only a few more moments before opening the text. J-just asking if they wanted to watch anime still…

A wave of relief washed over her at that, unaware Frisk was testing if she was likely watching them.

Alphys [12:13]  
 _Hey Frisk. Yeah I'd love to watch some anime ^3^! Did you have any that you wanted to watch? I have o3o a few that I can recommend if not LOL._

Frisk blinked at the quick response from Alphys. So she was awake! And she didn’t hear them plotting, so... they already had a show in mind, something that reminded them of their own situation. Anime was one of the primary ways they, Undyne and Alphys bonded after all (and sometimes Papyrus was there too).

[Have you watched an anime called Madoka Magica? It’s kinda dark, but it has magical girls. Maybe we can watch that.]

“Hey Flowey, do you like anime?” They asked, barely managing to sound casual. Maybe it’d be worth staying up for this. If they told Toriel they spent all night watching anime with Alphys then it might comfort her in a, uh, disapproving ‘Frisk don’t copy Alphys’s sleep schedule’ kinda way.

[We could also watch the anime you’re watching right now if you want. uwu.] Frisk couldn’t help but also add, and posed like a magical girl in front of the camera. They were struggling to keep a straight face.

Flowey watched their reaction, smiling in response. He tried to look over to see what they were messaging on their phone, but didn't quite get a good view. However, Flowey stopped trying to look when Frisk asked him if he liked anime, going back to a normal height. He blinked a bit before shrugging, "I don't mind it. Although Alphys left some weird shit behind. We aren't watching any of those right? Because, although those animes were interesting they didn't really have any plot. They were kinda boring and were just about robots kissing each other and such."  
Flowey figured he shouldn't be too detailed on what exactly he had found in Alphys abandoned anime collection, the ones that were hidden to be exact.

Alphys:  
Oh sure! I haven't seen that one yet so it wouldn't hurt to see it right XD?  
Alphys:  
Although I've been watching a lot of this one anime called full metal monster. It's a newer one about a couple of monster brothers that tried to bring their mother back and 1 lost their body while the other lost an arm and a leg. But the one that lost their arm and leg got a replacement of metal, and... and I probably shouldn't spoil the whole thing haha…

“Nah, we can watch through the undernet now. There’s so much more anime on there than what Alphys has.” Frisk said, a bit disappointed that Alphys hadn’t commented on their pose or anything. Oh well. Maybe she wasn’t paying attention to the camera. Alphys of course, had noticed the pose and smiled a bit at it. At least Frisk didn't seem to be in any danger, or scared about Flowey being there at the very least. Of course, she wasn't going to comment about it, since she still didn't want to make it obvious that she was indeed watching them still.

Bringing someone back to life might also be a good way to try to get into the topic of Flowey.

Well, their motives weren’t completely cold and rational. They also wanted to watch some anime with their friends!

"Really? What anime are y'all planning to watch?" Flowey decided to ask while he watched Frisk text Alphys.

Frisk:  
[We can watch that one too! I just gotta get ready for it if we’re pulling an all-nighter. Wanna watch on that video streaming website? I can’t come over right now.]

“Oh, we’re thinking of watching either Madoka Magica or Full Metal Monster. One’s about magical girls with a darker twist and the other is about some monsters trying to bring their mom back to life and getting turned to metal, apparently. You have a preference?” They asked Flowey.

He paused however at hearing the options. Of course one of them is about trying to bring somebody back to life... Although he didn't say that out loud.

Instead, he simply stated, "The darker twist sounds like a fun one!" His face morphed to his evil toothy smile to match suit to the darker theme, showing that he likely had a preference to darker kinds of stuff. Of course, when he finished speaking his face morphed back into a smile with beady lines for eyes, "Where do ya plan on watching it? Alphys left her computer behind so we can try to use that. Not sure if it'll connect though."

Alphys:  
[Oh yeah, sure! Toriel told me that you were staying with a friend for... a well.. um unannounced amount of time? LOL Are they going to be joining you? Who is it?]

Of course they knew it was Flowey, but better to act like they didn't know right?

“I was planning on my phone, but the computer might have a bigger screen.” They ignored the text for the moment to walk over to Alphys’s computer and tap some keys. They eventually found the power button. The machine beeped and started to turn on, a cloud of dirt coming out of the fan of the computer’s box.

Frisk coughed and waved it aside, and then took a few moments to cough even more deeply into their sleeve. Ow, their throat! They spat some phlegm into the trash as politely as they could.

[He’s a secret.] They typed, pulling up and sitting back in the chair, [But yeah, he wants to watch. Can we do Madoka Magica first pls??? It only has 12 episodes.]

They clicked on the undernet indicator as soon as they could, ignoring the files on the desktop that had really weird titles that would probably put Buncrazy’s drunk flirty ramblings to shame. They frowned at the blank WiFi signal indicator.

[Do you know if there’s a way to make my phone help the computer connect to the undernet? It’s not really working right now...] Frisk typed on their phone, sent it and rubbed their neck in a feeble attempt to soothe the pain. Their throat felt really dry... were they going to have to drink more soda at this rate?

Flowey moved over to watch them do their thing on the computer, as well as texting Alphys. He paused however at seeing Frisk rub their throat. Was the soda bad or something? Eh, it didn't matter. If it bothered them enough he was sure they'd say something.

"It'll probably be easier to watch as well," Flowey commented, growing his stalk so that he could better view the screen. It was a bit tiring to 'stand' like this, but he didn't mind it all that much. How long could the anime be anyways? It's not like they planned on watching anime for several hours.

Alphys:  
A secret huh? You aren't running off to date someone behind your mom's back are you LOL? Alphys couldn't help but make the joke, she had grown at least a little bit more cocky since moving to the surface.

Alphys:  
And oh, yeah you just have to have a wire to plug it in... I.... She paused mid text, not sending it quite yet as she looked at the monitor... well this was going to give her away, I have a feeling there might be a compatible cord probably already plugged into your computer through a usb port. It should also provide a temporary charge for your phone as well. It should be like a back up charger, that can tether connection to any computer. If it's not there then... let me know?

Alphys could see the cord on the computer though, she had left it by mistake before heading to the surface, when Flowey had suddenly attacked her. She couldn't even remember why he attacked her with how fast everything went, and with how long ago it was

.Frisk snickered at Alphys’s text about dating.

[He’s made it clear that it’s not a date :P] Frisk might flirt and tease others sometimes, but they weren’t really interested in getting a partner like that in the first place. They had enough stuff to do. [Okay, thanks!]

They knew what a USB port was, luckily, and connected the corresponding wire to their phone. They clicked on the undernet icon and let out a “Yes!” when they saw the option to use their phone’s connection. Well, their voice was a bit garbled with how their throat was rebelling.

They got up to grab a few sodas and ramen packets from the fridge, sat back down, and opened the undernet to the usual streaming site they met up with Alphys’s on. They typed into their account and asked Alphys through text to make a room for them to join since her connection was probably better up there.

Little did Flowey know that anime sessions usually lasted all night until school started…

"Your voice sounds awful," Flowey snickered a bit, mimicking the snicker they let out, unaware of why they even made the noise in the first place. He watched them hook up the computer to their phone, and then head to a website. His curiosity and interest grew from the very action. He wondered how many sites there were that only the surface had, and how long it would take him to browse them all.

While Frisk got up to grab sodas, he would grab a vine, open a new tab, and just google snails. Yes, Flowey just randomly looked up snails and was now browsing through google images with a full look of interest while Frisk took their brief walk to the fridge.

Alphys:  
Aww well you got to let me meet your boyfriend sometime! X3 Alright I set it up. I sent an invite, you just need to accept it as well okay?

“Oh thanks Flow... gh.” Frisk started to say sarcastically, but it was at that moment that Frisk’s voice decided to completely give out. They quickly opened a bottle of soda to sip at it.

Still, they felt like something was blocking them from speaking. Was this what the saying ‘a frog in the throat’ meant? They cleared their throat and cringed somewhat at the pain. Yeah, they were getting sick.

“Ribbit.” They rasped, overriding that blockage, and chuckled as they got back into their seat. They watched Flowey browse images of snails for a few moments, and then reached over to go back to the streaming site to accept Alphys’s request, “Snail time later.” They could feel their voice getting worse with every word. “Losing... voice.” They tried to inform Flowey.

[Alright! I’ll put the episodes in the queue.] They typed to Alphys on the keyboard.

"Boy do you sound like you're getting sick. Just stop talking alright?..." He thought for a bit. Hmm... would butterscotch help their throat? he hated the idea of wasting it in an experiment like that, but it would at least allow Frisk to communicate. It wouldn't be as fun if they couldn't speak right? He couldn't recall if it was honey or butterscotch that helped, in fact, they probably both would at least be beneficial.  
...  
He'll just look for honey for Frisk. The butterscotch that got left in Asgore's house was his. It didn't matter if Frisk couldn't talk, he wasn't giving them his candy.

He also didn't protest Frisk taking back control of the computer when they returned, instead moving away and watching the screen.

Alphys decided to start typing on the actual website now opposed to texting.

KissyCutieLizard38: Alright Frisk. I'm ready whenever you are!

Frisk smiled and shrugged. It was just a small cold, probably. Hopefully. They just couldn’t go into the True Lab anytime soon. Or uh, speak, apparently. They hoped that wore off quickly.

They queued up the episodes. They had been wanting to watch this series with Alphys for a while, actually!

Frisk33: Alright! I’ve watched a little bit of this, but I haven’t finished it yet! :D

Cheery hopeful music came from the speakers as colorful young characters went across the screen. Just for a moment, Frisk decided to enjoy the animation but also eagerly awaited Alphys and Flowey’s responses to the twist that came in the series and turned the plotline much darker than the art style turned out to be!

Frisk33: My favorite character in here is Homura.

Was it true? No, they liked all the characters, but they wanted Alphys to focus on her a bit more when she came up. The reason was simple. Homura pretty much had the power to reset time to a specific date.

Other than that, they decided to settle back and enjoy the anime with their friends. Flowey eventually crawled up into this lap so he wouldn’t have to stretch to see all the time.

 _”If you don’t want him to leave you, then why don’t you break his legs so he can’t run away?”_ A girl on screen demanded in a challenging manner to another girl, who looked horrified at such an implication, and then angry.

After that exchange was over, Flowey twined his vines around Frisk’s legs.

“Could I break your legs so you don’t run away?” He asked innocently, tightening his grip to a very uncomfortable degree.

Frisk smiled, relaxing their legs so the unexpected grip wouldn’t hurt as much.

[You could, but will you?] They typed on the computer for Flowey to read, since they couldn’t talk. Flowey didn’t know. They still had that to hold over him. Flowey smiled, and loosened his vines in response. They both went back to watching anime.

Monster kid then texted Frisk the assignment:  
Yooo sorry I was playing this new game that Snowdrake showed me. I completely forgot to send you your homework!

Seems it was time for class to start.

Frisk's cell phone ping'd and they picked it up to read the text and looked at the time. Oh, right... they had school. And homework. They hoped Toriel wouldn't mind the extra workload too much when they turned in their things a bit late.

[Gosh, it's already time for class! Sorry Alphys, lost track of time. We can finish this later! Thanks for the anime session.] They typed quickly, and then took some tape from the table to quickly layer over their phone's front and back cameras quickly. Frisk thought they must look absolutely terrible and they doubted Flowey wanted to show himself, either. They leaned over Flowey, set their phone carefully upright against the computer, sat back, and waited for Toriel to call them.

Briefly, they considered asking Flowey to speak for them in their voice so Toriel wouldn't be so worried, but decided against it. That would be... counterproductive at best. They'd just have to override their frog in their throat again…

It wouldn't take too long after Monsterkid's message for Toriel to call Frisk.

Frisk pressed answer, but then exited the call app so it was still ongoing to text Toriel.

[Hey mom. Lost my voice. My friend’s watching too.]

They went back to the call and selected the facetime option. The camera, going two ways, would both show Toriel and then show Frisk’s camera greyed out. Ah, they left their notebook at Asgore’s house... well, they’ll go there and write down what they remember later.

Fortunately for Frisk, Toriel wasn't entirely familiar with voice chatting on the phone, and because of it she wouldn't question the fact that Frisk couldn't be seen on her end.

"Why hello there Frisk! I thought I'd call early to make sure I got the phone set up correctly. Can you- oh my phone got a message. Apologies Frisk, let me see..." right as Frisk swapped to the video chat Toriel could be seen tapping the phone. She likely was opening the message.

"Oh! The message was from you Frisk! Hehe well, I do hope your voice gets better. Your friend is there? Oh dear, I do not know their name. Frisk's friend, what is your name?"

Flowey paused, and then stared at Frisk with a grin, his face morphing into Asgore's, as if about to speak in their voice.

Flowey wasn't losing this golden opportunity by a long shot.

Frisk looked back to Flowey, wondering if he wanted to say his name, but tensed up at that conspiring grin, much more than when he casually threatened to break their legs. Flowey didn’t get past the first word before both of their hands were covering his mouth with the FULL intention of muffling Asgore’s voice.

“No! Bad!” They rasped, and let go and attempted to quickly text Toriel the warning, [My friend can mimic voices!]

This was likely the first time Frisk had ever touched Flowey's face, it would feel similar to an amalgamate's goopy like exterior. In fact, some of the goop would stick to their hand if they pulled away, not much, but a little bit. 

Flowey gave a saddened Asgore look at them, before morphing his face back to his normal Flowey one. Although he looked rather disappointed, as if hoping to not have been stopped.

I already told you what I'd do if you did that, Flowey. Frisk thought, giving a disapproving look to the puppy-faced Flowey.

"Frisk, are you okay?" Toriel would ask, sounding a bit worried at the sound of their voice. Frisk made an affirmative sound back. Was Frisk's friend one of the dogs? She had thought they had already friended all the royal guard dogs from Snowdin, "And... what was your name again, friend of Frisk?" He paused, receiving the text message. Upon reading it she would nod, "Okay... were they trying to pull a prank then? Is that why you spoke? Frisk's friend, you should not make someone speak when they've lost their voice. Try to be more considerate."

Flowey rolled his eyes as Toriel spoke, and then backed away from Frisk's hand so that his mouth was freed. He changed his face to look like a smiling human. It wasn't one that Frisk had met before though, and the face seemed to have slightly lighter toned cheeks, as if a permanent blush almost.

It kinda looked like one of the pictures that Toriel had when moving her stuff.

Frisk knew who Chara was. They usually looked at every single new thing closely, so they had seen Chara's face in photos Toriel had, but Chara always hid their face behind something or was turned away. Asgore had quietly told Frisk that they looked so much like Chara, at least when they were a child. Frisk even had glimpses of what Chara looked like and some of their memories during their barrier-breaking fight with Asriel.

And, some deep part of their soul knew that this was Chara's face. So finally seeing their face so clearly for once made them freeze. 

... Just for a few seconds, though. They quickly muted their phone so it wouldn't take voice on their end, and fixed their shocked face back into their grumpy one from earlier. Now was NOT the time for their accursed curiosity!

Flowey of course, didn't realize that Frisk had muted the phone, instead deciding to speak regardless, "My name is a mystery!" He spoke, a malicious tone hidden deep in his voice. It sounded sing song like, as if trying to mix a cheerful one with that of pain and bloodthirst. As if the voice came from someone that had only suffered and wanting nothing more than to get revenge on those who hurt them.

After all, Chara wanted to destroy humanity. They had hurt them so much, and when they finally tried....

They met the monsters. The most caring creatures they'd ever run across. How could humans have trapped such nice souls underground for eternity? Why were they so cruel? Chara still had wanted to erase themselves from the world, despite the new and better family they had. They didn't know how they'd do it, but when they accidentally poisoned Asgore they wound up bursting into laughter from the brilliant plan that formed in their mind.

They finally had a way to do it. They could be the angel from the prophecy, they could free everyone and make humans pay for their crimes at the same time.

They just had to convince Asriel to follow through with their plan, their best friend. He was a crybaby, weak and easily manipulated to listen to them, so the task had been easy.

It hadn't taken long for them to talk him into helping.

…

And when all was said in done the goat had hesitated. He didn't want to kill anyone, he didn't want to destroy the humans that had hurt them so much, to get their souls and free everyone.... their plan had failed, and they had no one but to blame themself. They were a disgusting human that had wanted to be gone so bad, that they wound up bringing their friend with them. For Chara, all humans were horrible, including themself.

 _They sound like... they’ve seen too much for a child._ Frisk thought solemnly, perhaps hypocritically. While they knew a bit about Asriel, they didn’t know too much about Chara even though they were so important. They wondered if they could ask Flowey about Chara later.

... There was a time Frisk bought into Flowey’s misunderstanding and started believing that they were Chara, but that was cleared up when they reset after failing to kill Sans and tried to SPARE all the monsters. They weren’t. They were just Frisk, and that wasn’t going to change.

...... of course, this is just how Flowey saw Chara. Neither Flowey nor Frisk’s knew Chara's exact thoughts. Sure, Flowey knew some of these things above, but not entirely everything. The only voice he knew that came from Chara had hidden pain in it, one that he never really knew how to pick out.

After speaking, he stared at the phone screen intensely, as if wondering how Toriel would react.  
Toriel however, would not hear Flowey, due to Frisk muting the phone, so she didn't have any reaction to it at all, "Oh dear, class should be starting soon. I won't be able to read messages, so please have your friend speak for you if possible. I do apologize, but I'll have to listen to your name later," the camera became temporarily blocked by a giant white paw, before being readjusted to carefully set the phone down at a different spot.

The whole view was sideways now. Oh well.

"Hello children!" Toriel said, marking the start of her class as the bell rang. A warm smile was on her face as she spoke, "Does everyone have their homework assignments from yesterday?"  
She paused, and then bent down to stare into her phone, "And Frisk, please email me the assignment after class."

She readjusted her reading glasses, before standing up right again, "Everyone else, please get out your homework, I'll come around and collect it."

Lost in thought, they reflexively nodded to Toriel before catching themselves. _Don’t nod on the phone, Frisk._ They thought.

Having something so rudimentary to worry about like homework made them sigh, but in a good manner. They were going to have to go through it quickly after class and apologize to Toriel for being late. And then they were going to shower, and take a nap, and then work on some projects, and then gather some stuff... soon enough Frisk was daydreaming about their day today.

They moved their legs and cringed at the intense pins and needles. Flowey was kinda heavy and he had been on their lap for hours now. They kicked their legs back and forth to get the blood flow back, watching class and gripping the edge of the seat. Determination usually numbed them in battle, so little pains like this were, well, kind of a pain.

Flowey's face held the Chara like smile, "Can she not hear me?" He sounded a bit disappointed, the voice still holding the hidden away pain as well as Chara's voice, "She should recognize my voice!"

Toriel could indeed not hear Flowey's Chara voice. Had the phone been unmuted it likely would have provoked a reaction out of her. A shame.

It didn't take long before Toriel was back at the front of the classroom, placing the homework assignments on her desk.

She would then pull out a history book, "Today we'll be learning about the history of the underground. Now, I know some of you are fully aware about everything regarding that aspect, however not everyone here is."

Toriel would then start to explain how humans waged war on monsters due to the fear of their souls being taken, that they locked monsters away underground with the help of 7 mages, "Now, you may know that humans don't exactly have magic. So how would they have 7 powerful mages to lock monsters underground you may ask?" She paused, and then studied the classroom, as well as Frisk, "Would anyone like to take a guess on how this was possible?"  
Flowey seemed a bit bored at the class topic, his face falling to a normal Flowey one. He had failed to trick anyone. He also didn't seem to care too much about Frisk moving their legs around because of his tight grasp he held. He didn't even loosen his grip for them when they showed clear discomfort, not even processing that his grip was likely to tight for Frisk, "Why is she teaching such an easy subject?" Flowey complained.

Frisk clicked on the url on the still-open website on the computer. [I muted us.] They typed and tapped Flowey's vine and then pointing to what they typed if he didn't notice. While leaving Flowey wondering might have made him frustrated enough to stop, they still wanted to be honest with him. Flowey looked at the computer as they typed, frowning from what they read, but decided to not comment on it.

Frisk had a feeling about how the barrier was created. However they gave the class a chance to respond, curious about their answers. If no one said anything, they would text Toriel: [Maybe if those seven powerful human souls came together and could manipulate their souls enough with their own combined wishes, could they create something?] before putting the phone back. Thank goodness they could type fast.

Toriel unfortunately didn't even notice the text message. It was likely that they turned off their phone vibration for the class out of habit.

[Not everyone knows things that seem obvious.] They typed on the computer to Flowey. 

"Well that just means they're dumb," Flowey grumbled at Frisk's response of how not everyone knows obvious things. They were obvious for a reason weren't they? Frisk snorted. He probably wasn't all that great around kids if he believed that, disregarding all other reasons.

They gently tapped their foot on the ground to make sure no vines were there before stomping on the ground hard, frowning at the giant rush of nerves that threatened to cramp their leg. While they had a tolerance for pain, it combined with their headache and uncleanliness was starting to really mess with their focus. Flowey blinked and then looked at the floor to watch Frisk stomp on the ground, before hearing them type and looking at the computer as they typed[Lighten your grip Flowey you're cutting off my circulation] They wondered if Flowey knew about circulatory systems and all that human biology stuff.

"Huh, I almost forgot humans have some kinda circulation yucky blood stuff," Flowey removed his grip from their legs... only to move his vines and roots to wrap around Frisk's waste and stomach instead at a rather tight grip as well, "This better?" He asked, turning to look at them with a cocky expression on his face.

Toriel continued her lesson for the time being.

"MK?" She asked, the monster kid eagerly trying to get her attention to answer.

"Yo, wasn't it because one of their parents were a monster? So because they were half monster they had magic?"

They immediately tapped their feet on the ground and smacked their legs, trying to wake them back up. Annnnnd now Flowey's grip was on their waist. For obvious reasons, their stomach was a lot more sensitive to pressure than their legs were so they made an unhappy gurgly sound and took a few seconds to see if they could tolerate it? ... No, it was hard to breathe. They shook their head and looked around for something else to have Flowey grip onto... Their arms? No way, they needed their hands free. They leaned back... and got an idea!

[How about I turn the chair around and you can grip onto the back of it instead?] They suggested through text, and then got up carefully with a hand to support Flowey. Well... they tried to, but the pins and needles made them grip onto the edge of the table and make a groan. Anyway, that wasn't going to stop them for long as they turned the chair around and sat on it backwards.

Flowey frowned, and then smiled brightly at Frisk, "but what if I like clinging to you? You're my friend, and friends should try to tolerate a thing or two in order to be a good friend right?" He winked at them, not releasing his grip, or loosening it for that manner.

He likely was distracting them from the class, which he was entirely okay with.

"Yes! That's what's believed to be the case, however, throughout generations their magical abilities became lost, until humans once again no longer had magic."

Toriel smiled, and then started to continue talking about the war, how they were locked underground, and how they got into a habit of making puzzles and traps in case humans ever tried to come back and finish them off.

Frisk was giving Flowey a dull look, not really looking to the class (sorry Toriel), but they did hear Toriel's words. So humans who had magic were nonexistent now? Until monsters married humans again? That was going to make it harder for them if their 'secret power' ever got out.

Anyway, their mind filed away that fun fact to fully process later as their sides gave a protest of pain. [Does this make you uncomfortable?] Was their only (written) warning before they reached out suddenly and tightly hugged Flowey's face to their chest.

Flowey was about to respond in a confused no, before instantly getting a tight hug, his face splatting into their shirt, some of his facial goop likely sticking to it.

He grumbled for a bit, but just to spite Frisk he retaliated only by freeing 1 vine from their stomach to wrap around their leg again. This time however it had some thorns grow from it that would poke into their leg.

"Mnmno," he muttered out from their shirt. He wasn't letting them get this victory. Not by a longshot.

Frisk, not being defeated so easily either, hugged Flowey against the back of their chair and settled their chin on the top of it to watch Toriel's class, a small smirk on their face. They seemed to get pretty dang comfortable right then and there. Flowey didn't seem too happy with how his vines on his leg was getting thorny, but they'd wait for him to react or take back his words before they did anything else, even if their sides still ached. It'd take at least an hour for their leg to completely fall asleep again if they kept tapping their feet! Probably!

The quarrels of 2 determined individuals, one that would last for quite a while. Of course, Frisk naturally had a more determined soul so they'd likely win this issue.

Flowey at least didn't need to breathe with his mouth. Being a golden flower he could photosynthesize with his stalk and vines, so staying like this was more annoying than anything else.

... annoying mainly because it reminded him of when Frisk hugged him when he was Asriel, that he would never feel that way again.

A 2nd vine moved away from Frisk's stomach to wrap around their other leg after a few moments, and a few moments afterwards he would move a 3rd vine to try and wrap around both legs simultaneously, leaving mainly his roots and a couple of vines to wrap around their stomach.

After about 10 minutes of this he would pause. It had been several hours since he had been in the soil, and he could feel his roots starting to dry out. Unfortunately, Frisk would win this battle.  
Without a word, he released all of his vines and roots, before moving 1 to try and push their hand away from his face.

Frisk scooted back and let Flowey go. They were pretty casual about it, continuing to watch Toriel’s class and not commenting on their victory. They did rub their aching side in relief though, glad that little contest was over (for now).

They took a somewhat unwilling sip of semi-flat soda to hydrate the frog in their throat and wondered what to do first after class. They... really wanted to take a shower. Did the showers even work anymore? If they weren’t, maybe they’d go with Waterfall... yet another thing to ask Flowey about after class.

Flowey was a bit glad they didn't comment about their victory, deciding for now to just crawl to the soil and reattach his roots. He didn't say a word as he dipped into the soil, heading to waterfall to get his roots wet.

Meanwhile Toriel had gotten to the bit about when the first human fell into the underground.  
She explained that her Son, the prince of monsters, found them in the ruins and took them home.

There was a slightly saddened look on her face as she spoke, but that didn't stop her from teaching. Toriel knew that the touchy subject about her kids was stained into monster history, if only because of what happened after they died.

She explained how the Human, Chara, was adopted like they were family.

A distant annoyed grunt could be heard from the back of the room. It sounded like it was from the new transfer kid that arrived a few weeks prior. The kid hated monsters, and never really let anyone know much about him. He had beat up monsterkid a few times and actually brought him near death once before his own mother pulled him away. It was rumored that his mother loved monsters and wanted her son to love them to, so she moved to make him go to a mainly monster school.

Toriel continued speaking despite this. She didn't describe how Chara or Asriel were, the subject was one she tried to avoid after all.  
  
"There was so much hope in the underground when Chara was there. We had found out that humans were not what we feared them to be like anymore... however one day they grew very very ill...." she could be seen looking at the ground, a slight frown on her face, "Before they died they requested to see the flowers from their village, but with the barrier intact no one would fulfill their dying request. The next day... they died," Toriel looked away towards a wall, about to speak before a loud snicker could be heard, causing her to freeze.

"Chara deserved to not get their wish before they died. Especially if they decided to be okay with living with filthy monsters," the boy could be heard jeer out loudly across the classroom. If Frisk was there, they likely would be able to feel the tight tension caused in the classroom from what he said.

Toriel continued to stare at the wall, her mouth was open in shock, and it was clear she was fighting tears from falling. Frisk hated seeing that look on Toriel’s face. It reminded them of the expression she had when they had killed her in one blow. However, they quickly suppressed those feelings and focused on the problem.

"They should have kept their dignity and died when they first fell!"

Thankfully Flowey wasn't there. Well, for Flowey's sake. He still didn't care about anyone but he still thought fondly of Chara, even if they weren't the best person. He likely would have wanted to go to the surface to kill the kid right then and there... to toy with their life to see how they reacted to certain pains before taking their soul.

Frisk frowned. Transfer Kid was one child they had kept their eye on, and they had defended monsters from him whenever they could. But they couldn’t always be babysitting him. And now they couldn’t even defend their classmates at all!

They reached out for their phone, disconnected it from the computer, unmuted it, got up and started pacing back and forth, clearing their throat multiple times along the way.

“Mom-gh!” They shouted with a surprising amount of volume. Ow. Hopefully Toriel would hear them in the shocked silence of the class. If they caught her attention, they’d shout again, “Come here for a se-c!” Their voice gave out for a moment.

Toriel blinked, looking over at the phone when she heard Frisk. Seems that caught her out of her shock. She didn't go to the phone however, instead she went out of view. Only her voice could be heard.

"Kris. Do you want to talk about this outside of the classroom? I'll be more than happy to listen to what made this outburst happen. I care about you like I do all of my students, like you are all my children"

"I'm not a child to any monster. You guys should have stayed underground."

"Lets just go outside the classroom for a moment and talk okay?"

A shuffling sound could be heard, before a door opening and closing. Seems that Toriel got them out of the classroom to talk to them.

The classroom erupted into a soft chatter, people talking amongst themselves in worry.

Should someone go out there and make sure Mrs. Toriel is okay?

What if Kris tries to hurt Toriel?

I wonder if Kris is going to get in trouble.

Poor Mrs. Toriel. What Kirs did was uncalled for...

Various chitchat of the same caliber could be heard around the classroom.

Frisk didn’t mind that Toriel didn’t go over to them. They had meant to ground her somehow, so that goal was fulfilled, and their ‘worst-case-scenario’ plans faded. They put their phone closer to their ear to listen to the class.

They then texted Monster Kid.

[Hey man, watching the class from Mom’s phone. I’m sure she’s got it under control.]

They settled down enough to sit back in the chair, waiting and listening for the result. They weren’t going to patronize Toriel by telling her what to do... and things really did go wrong and someone got killed, well... there was always that option. Their hands shook a little.

Monsterkid texted back:  
[Yoo that kid is all kids of messed up.]  
[he's so uncool. Who does that!? You heard what he said right?]

[Yeah I heard what he said! I don't know what his problem is!] Frisk typed back, pouting somewhat as they folded their legs onto the chair. They wondered if they could do anything else to help... [I don't think people should be mean to him, though. It'd just give him more reason to hate monsters...] It might happen anyway if Kris continues to be so... abrasive, but they needed to try to suggest it.

Toriel closed the door as she exited the classroom, while Kris looked away and at the ground, crossing his arms, having followed her out as well.

  
"Now Kris... I know you're not to fond of monsters, but please at least try to be considerate.... this isn't still about your dad is it...?"

  
"..." Kris huffed out a bit angrily, looking away.

  
"I've spoken with your mother about it you know.." she knelt down to be on his eye level, "No monster will ever replace your dad. Please don't blame all of us for that. Your mother is just trying to be ha-"

  
"Shut up!" He growled out, "you don't know anything, you're just a filthy monster who deserves to dust just like all the other ones!" Kris's hands clenched in anger. Why was she still trying to be so nice to him?

  
"Kris. I know your stepdad is a monster. I don't expect you to be okay with such a sudden change right away, and it's okay if you're upset about that. However, you are in a school establishment that supports monsters now. If you need to talk to me about anything after class I'll be more than happy to do so, but for now you need to keep the comments you made earlier to yourself okay? Class is almost over. Do you think you can handle waiting until then...?" She frowned. She wasn't mad at Kris for what he said, she simply saw him as a child in pain from so much change that happened in his life.

Kris didn't say anything, the silence basically giving Toriel the answer she needed.  
She was just a monster, she didn't get it. He loved his dad, his mother should love his dad still too. Why did she have to marry some horrible monster just because he died? Why did his mom love monsters more than dad? Why did she love them more than him? She only made him go to this school because she wanted him to like them to.

He hated monsters. People loved them to bits but he didn't. He wasn't going to talk to Toriel about anything, she was a monster after all.

Toriel sighed, "Alright, lets go back inside then shall we?" She opened the door, her and Kris quietly entering it.

MK:  
Oh no one wants to go near the guy haha.  
we all kinda just avoid him for the most part. > He's a jerk! He almost killed me that one time remember?  
And it was all because I was trying to be nice and ask him if he wanted to come to my house and play some games, that my parents wouldn't mind him comin over.  
Like yo I was just trying to be friendly!

There was a brief pause before he sent another message.

MK:  
Oh Toriel is back! No one seems hurt either!

Toriel went back to the front of the class, "now, I don't want anyone discussing what happened okay?" She looked around the class, a small smile on her face, "For now I'll leave everyone here to read up on what happens next. It should be on page 413 in your monster history book."  
Seems class was ending.  
Flowey still wasn't back. He was still enjoying the water and cooler soil in waterfall.

Frisk wondered how they were going to do their homework without their textbook... should they ask Monster Kid to send them pics of the textbook? Or maybe there was an online version...

Anyway, now that class was ending they desperately wanted to take a shower and then they would finally complete their homework. But where was Flowey? He had left without a word. Maybe they should leave a message on the computer... They opened up Notepad on the computer and typed, [Gonna go see if the showers at Mettaton's hotel still work.] and made the text pretty big. They took their phone and walked to exit the Lab towards the right elevator.

When class was dismissed Toriel could be seen waiting at the front, only to frown a bit towards the exit as Kris left without saying a word.

She sighed, and then picked up the phone, "Frisk? Are you still there?" She asked, before pausing to check her messages. She could be seen smiling slightly.

Flowey dipped back into the soil and headed for the true lab. That was a well needed break. Frisk would still be in the room having class he assumed. They wouldn't have even noticed he was gone!

"Mmn." Frisk hummed, nodding, only to realize they were nodding on the phone again. It was a bad habit at this point. They had their phone held in their hand, watching Toriel in the corner of their view, and stopped and smiled themselves when they saw her smile. 

[Please take care of yourself okay?] They typed, wondering if she needed time to recover. Even if it had been only for a few seconds, she had looked so hurt. They passed a SAVE point as they walked and decided to stop and touch the star. Although their soul was at full HP, their aches and pains felt better as determination went through them.

*The knowledge that you can have faith in your mother to take care of herself and others around her fills you with Determination.

 _What a patronizing thing to be determined about._ Frisk thought, but couldn't help that it was true. The world wasn't going to crumble to dust just because they weren't on the surface. Like this, they could focus on their goal down here.

They went into the elevator. Flowey was probably going to be annoyed that they left, right? Hotland might be hard to navigate for him. They could hear his complaints when he got done with whatever he was doing when he found them.

Toriel could be seen replying, "I will, and you come home soon alright? I'd be more than happy to have your friend come with you as well if you wanted...." she gave a slightly worried expression, "You still do not know when you will return home, correct?"

Flowey popped his head up inside of the true lab, only to pause with a frown, "...Frisk?" He looked around, eyes widening when he noticed they were gone.

He... didn't exactly look at the computer, causing him to not know where they were headed.

Panic flew through them... no, they... they left as soon as he-

He instantly headed to the barrier, unaware that Frisk wasn't going to be in the route he took.


	5. Dissonance

[I do not know when I will return. But your advice from before helped me a lot.] Frisk texted, leaning against the elevator wall. They were trying to think of what advice to ask for, but honestly? They and Flower had been relatively peaceful with each other today. It was just that building up trust part. However, they did have a serious conversation with Flowey, plus Kris's scenario... And it left them with a block they needed help unraveling.

[I'll ask for more advice... Do you think someone can be truly kind to someone else without feeling love? Feel free to text me later if you gotta work.] They typed, getting out of the elevator to walk up to Mettaton's hotel. They were blissfully unaware of Flowey's panic.

Toriel read the text message, and blinked a bit in surprise from the question, "Well, you don't have to love someone to be kind to them. Even if you don't like another person you can always be kind," she smiled a bit, "If that question was about Kris it's fine. He's not a bad kid despite everything. You know, I wonder if you two could get along, when you come back that is. Maybe I should invite his family over for some pie whenever you get back? Would you be okay with that?" She didn't comment about needing to work, although she could be seen moving the phone so that she could sit down at her desk while still being seen. She seemed to be typing on the computer while she awaited another message, pulling out the homework assignments, and then looking through them.

It wasn't the answer they were looking for, but Frisk felt warm despite it. If anything could melt someone's heart, it was a piece of Toriel's pie which they'd probably trick Kris into eating somehow.

Talking with Kris? Well... it couldn't be any harder than talking to Flowey. They just didn't know a lot about Kris, and they didn't particularly like him all that much either, but testing the waters with someone new was something fun. Well, as long as no one else got hurt... and they were pretty good at dodging, to the point where they sometimes encouraged FIGHTs if someone got too riled up to calm them back down, be it human or monster (Which is also why they did not go to public school...). This method didn't really work on Flowey, however, with his no-dodge bullet pattern... Anyway, tactics aside-

[I would like that, thank you.] Frisk texted back, although it might be a while before that happened. They looked around for Flowey at the entrance but no one was there. He was probably still off doing... flower things? Anyway, it gave them time to do Frisk things. [I have to do my homework and shower and stuff. I'll have to call you later. Love you, mom.]  
They gave her time to respond and then hung up to tuck their phone into the pocket. They found the hotel rooms unlocked, and the water was working but it was HOT. They did fill up the bathroom with steam to help their throat and the bathtub with nearly-boiling water, though, and they hissed when a few droplets splashed them. The water would hopefully cool down. They wiped off the steam and dirt off of a mirror and fixed their hair with their fingers.

There's about thirty rooms in this hotel... there's some soap left behind... I might have enough for a few months... They made calculations about how many hygenic supplies they have, and also stole some food from the mini fridges. Who charges 40G for a water bottle...? They drank greedily.

Still no Flowey. They eyed the giant bed.

Homework! They chided, stalking down the stairs to the New Home Elevator instead. They paused. What if Flowey wondered where they were? They really needed to get him some kind of phone. Walkie Talkie. Whatever. Toriel had also sent Frisk a pdf of all the monster history text book, and informed them that whenever they return they'll ask Kris's mom about them all visiting.

They searched and eventually found an unused clipboard with notebook paper, and did their homework on that. They finished, feeling more and more tense the longer Flowey didn't show up. Was he okay...? They took a picture of their (somewhat late) homework to send to Toriel. It had been a few hours, so they went back to their hotel room and washed off the grime with the cooled-down water. Closed the door even if no one was there and washed their clothes, too.

They had something like happen before yesterday, right? Flowey was really... not good at finding them. At all.

Dressed in damp, steamy clothes, Frisk decided to check New Home. They walked the same path, their pace speeding up more and more until they were impatiently running to the exit. They... did not want to be left alone here for that long, either...!

Flowey got to the barrier. It was still intact... it was still not open. Good, that means they hadn't left yet.

He was such an idiot. Such a STUPID idiot- he shouldn't have trusted Frisk, he shouldn't have believed they wouldn't run the second they got a chance. They didn't accept his offer from before, but it wasn't because they didn't want out, it was because they probably knew he was up to something. Why didn't he realize that before? Was it because... he wanted it to be a truth so badly? That he wanted Frisk to willingly stay with him more than anything else?

... he sulked a bit in front of the rocks, leaning his stalk over to somewhat lay down on a rock in worry.

Frisk always came back. Every time they tried running off he always met them here. He... would just have to wait right?

He became more and more worried as he waited, but was determined to stay as long as he could. Just 1 day, they'd come within that time right?

Flowey had a twist of worry and panic flow through him as the minutes clicked by. Each second felt like a minute, the minute felt like hours, and the hours felt like eternity. Where... was Frisk?  
He paced back and forth through the soil for about half an hour, before tears welled in his eyes. No, nonono where were they? They didn't take this long before... He slammed his face into one of the rocks, whimpering as tears came to his eyes. He didn't want to be by himself and bored again, he didn't want to be lonely again.... did... did they find another way out?....

He looked towards the hallway that led to the cave-in, "FRISK!!" he called, as if he would even be heard, "FRISK, PLEASE, COME BACK!"

…

*Flowey called for Frisk....

*But Nobody came.

He waited in silence for a moment, the silence settling down around him as his echo'd calls were met without a single reply. He sulked, closing his eyes and starting to cry. He was so alone, and he felt so scared. It had been a few hours now since he lost the whereabouts of Frisk, and sobbed loudly. His face was pressed against his stalk, unable to actually hear anyone approach. His whole form was shaking. He didn't want to be alone again.

Frisk heard something, and slowed down their steps to listen. So they were right. Flowey thought they were trying to escape again. And perhaps they could have used this chance to, but fate was guiding their footsteps into the place where the barrier was. Where the new, physical barrier was.

They wondered if he had immediately panicked when he came back, only to find they weren't there. But they didn't dawdle for long. They gathered up their thoughts and walked into view.

Flowey's crying tugged at their soul. They clenched their fists, and started to cry too. They hadn't meant to hurt him, but they did... again.

"...?"

... They might have been able to calm down with their words but their voice still didn't work properly. In fact... it felt like they had completely lost it.

Flowey still didn't seem to notice Frisk right away, which was both fortunate and unfortunate.  
Between his sobs he could be head hyperventilating, the flower clearly still in a panic. It would be a few moments before he sniffled and moved to lay his stalk down on the dirt, however upon doing so he noticed Frisk. Frisk was crying... why? Was it because of how pitiful he must look...?  
His crying and quickened breath instantly stopped, almost like there was a switch for his emotions that he could just shut off. It was just that instantaneous. His whole demeanor went from a sad, crying, mess, into one of pure emptiness.

The expressionless emotion he swapped to didn't last for long however, before instantly morphing into a fanged scowl, his eyes changing to black circles with white pinpricks for eyes. This wasn't the first time he used this expression on Frisk either, so it wasn't like it was anything entirely new. Even if it was normally in an evil smile.

They had really done it now, haven't they? Frisk tried to cough, but they couldn't use their voice box to even do that, just odd huffs. They considered using their phone, but with the state Flowey was in? It'd just get destroyed.

"You..." He breathed out in anger, opening his mouth in rage now as several vines shot out from the ground in an attempt to grab Frisk. He seemed to waste no time in pulling them into a battle.

Tears in their eyes didn't stop their soul from flickering into sight and becoming hyper aware of where Flowey's magic vines was coming out, like invisible lines shooting through their soul. Frisk would step back, roll on the ground to their feet, and then roll again to dodge the next on all fours.

This wasn't like their pillow fight game. Frisk dodged like their life depended on it now, holding nothing back. Dying wouldn't solve this, wouldn't settle Flowey's rage against them. They had to wear him out!

Flowey didn't let up, deciding to surround them with pellets as he shot more vines that attempted to grab and hold onto them, "STOP RUNNING AWAY!" he shouted out, "STOP LEAVING EVERY CHANCE YOU GET!!!"

Frisk wasn't even saying anything, they weren't even trying to speak up. So what if their voice was broken? They had made croaked out responses earlier, and now... they didn't want to say a word? They were just... sparing him, they weren't even trying to act. They just didn't want to fight, like always.... actually, he had never given them a true fight now had he?

Of course he hadn't. He only ever toyed with them in fights, he never used his full strength, even when he had the power of 7 human souls inside of him.

Maybe now would be a good as time as ever to try something. Not right away, he would keep fighting like normal for a bit. No one had ever turned Frisk's soul orange before, he was sure he could trick them at least once with it.

Frisk had kept up on top of their dodging skills- sparring with Undyne and Papyrus and whatever monster that was willing to whenever they could. Seeing the monsters come up with new bullet patterns and laughing and ranting about how cool they were was a form of bonding for Frisk, even if it rather startled the other humans sometimes (Although some of them found it amazing and wanted to watch). So while Frisk was larger, they were even faster and more nimble than they were as a child. But this scenario... again, this was not sparring.

Frisk ignored the pellets-that-had-no-gap, with how much they were moving around and their soul and adrenaline were active they could only feel pressure when the bullets hit them and their soul flickered. They spun out of the way before it could grab them, and kept low to the ground so they could move around easier unless they had to jump over vines or run from them.

'Flowey please hear me out!' They tried to mouth to him, but it would be hard to make out when they were moving around so much. If they died, nothing would change- and they realized with a start that they needed this timeline to show Flowey what they were doing! If they died then all that evidence would be gone! They had to get him to stop- even if they... even if they...! 

'FLOWEY!' They tried to scream out, but besides a large breath that made their head spin somewhat no sound left. They grimaced.

Like a flint against rock, their determination and desperation made their soul give out a flash of magic sparks.

Flowey didn't notice them try to speak, he was to focused on attacking, trying to grab them with his vines, "Stay still!" Flowey scowled more, before pausing for a brief moment and grinning darkly, "I won't kill you. I promise!" Although he promised not to kill them, the tone of his voice hinted that he did plan to do so.

With a huge killing intent that made their soul go '!!!!!' all the time, Frisk highly doubted Flowey's words as they kept dodging. They took every chance they could to rest, and they crouched in one place when the attacks lessened. As if Flowey was... distracted.

He didn't mind that he was fighting Frisk, that he was pissed off at them. He didn't want them to see him crying, he didn't want them to think he was weak.

Hmm... Perhaps if his vines replaced his bullets? All he needed was to hold them down, to make them not be able to move, and then it would be over really fast. At worst he could try turning their soul orange, but he wanted to wait on that. That would be a trick he had to save for later.

It couldn't hurt to try out new attacks right?

*Flowey's attacks seem to be getting less intense. He's preparing something.

For a moment, all the vines and bullets vanished.... before a ring of vines shot upwards around Frisk, as if acting like a wall that even prevented himself from being seen. He hoped that Frisk didn't notice them and jump out of the way before it was to late, because he was only just getting started, "You have no idea what it's like to be down here by myself for so long. You have no idea what it's like to not be able to feel anything for anyone..." his face with to a slightly pained smile, "you'll never understand! Even when you had LOVE it wasn't the same..."

They would have sensed the vines coming up again and dodged if it weren't for the fact that their soul sparked again, and this time they noticed it, and felt something really odd from their soul. Confusion made them pause. What was that? Did Flowey do something to their soul with his magic?

And then vines had caged them. Frisk clenched their fists. What if their soul did the darn cha cha slide?! Now they were trapped! Flowey took a deep breath when he finally captured Frisk, a normal smile forming on his face. He ducked into the ground, coming a little bit closer to Frisk. Some of the vines between them parted just enough so that they could see each other, but not enough to give Frisk a chance to get out.

'I don't understand your pain. But I still want to help you.' Frisk mouthed, keeping eye contact with Flowey as they focused completely on what he had in store for them next, ignoring any odd flashes of light or non-Flowey sensations of magic from their soul completely.

This time he was able to see what they were mouthing out since they weren't dodging attacks left and right, "You can't help me, What can't you understand about that? Are you really that much of an idiot?"

'I will find a way. Frisk disagreed, their hopes still alight with the memory of their friends, the knowledge they had gained. They weren't alone in this. They had the support of their friends, too! But... everything could be lost if they couldn't win Flowey's trust back. Everything could be lost if they died here.

"... It's impossible, you don't think I haven't tried finding a way to help myself?" Flowey frowned.

Flowey had tried so many ways to feel again. He had found some of Alphys samples and injected himself with random things during the time he could reset. Nothing worked, and some of the injections did infact kill him. He never knew which was which, they weren't labeled, instead having been tossed in the trash. He only knew they were reminents of soul traits from the fact that one of them had been labelled 'determination', while the others were without any labels at all, and some were even completely empty.

He did recall that one of them made him really brave shortly afterwards, as well as another made him rather patient. Of course, their effects had been reversed after a reset, and by the time Frisk had fallen down, Alphys had disposed of them in waterfall. It wasn't like any of them had helped him feel whole again though, so it didn't entirely matter.

But, he had been willing to experiment on himself. He had done everything that he could to try and save himself before he realized that it wasn't possible. Sure, it had been possible when he had the power of a god and Frisk saved him, but it was only temporary, and it wasn't something that he would be willing to replicate.

Frisk's resolve didn't waver at Flowey's words. If he couldn't find a solution, then they'd have everyone they knew help him out, indirectly, through them. The power of many minds were greater than a single one, even if that one had lived for who knew how many years. They all were going to help Flowey!

Flowey used his turn to perform a CHECK on Frisk, attempting to see how much HP they currently had. He had only hit them once with the auto-hitting bullets at the very least.

Frisk 14/20 HP. 0 Atk 2 Def. Seems to want to tell you something.

"But at least you're not running away now. I have you right where I want you!" he winked happily towards them, before going back to a normal smile, "Because what you saw before I attacked, never happened, got it?" Flowey didn't exactly want Frisk to give him any worthless pity, and if they acted like his crying mess never happened it would be for the best. After all... he had no idea how long they were standing there, just... watching him and crying silently along with him. He didn't hear them approach... They could have been there for a long while and he would never have known. Did... did they hear him call for them also? He hoped not.

Frisk hadn't meant to cry in front of Flowey like that. They would have hid their own tears if it they weren't distracted by the fact they didn't have a voice. 'What happened?' They said, smiling briefly despite all of this. They'd act like it never happened, although they've seen Flowey break down multiple times. He was a prideful person after all. He at least seemed a bit pleased at their answer of 'what happened' at least.

'Flowey please listen to me. Did you see the note I left on the computer?' They tried again.

He paused, and gave a sheepish smile, "No... I.. didn't check the computer. I went straight here to catch you before you tried to escape..." Frisk had left a message for him on the computer? Why didn't they just stay and wait for him to return? What was so important that they had to leave right then and there? What other reason would you have left without waiting for me to return....? I only left because I needed water, and didn't want to disturb your class. I thought I'd be back before it ended," his smile looked even more forced at this point.

Frisk nodded and smiled again. 'Thanks. Class ended and I wanted to find some actual food and take a shower. I went to Mettaton's hotel. I can show you proof.' They exhaled sheepishly, unable to sigh, 'I guess we really need to work on our communication huh...'

"Yeah.. haha.." Flowey sighed, and then changed their soul orange. This was as good as time as any to catch them off guard right?

"I'm sorry Frisk, really," had he ever apologized while still Flowey? He wasn't sure, "I shouldn't have been so quick to think you were leaving... I... I can make it up to you though!" He then gave them a pained smile, "I hit you earlier, so I probably should make up for that huh? I have healing magic after all... so here, let me fix things for you..." he paused, before summoning a few green pellets above Frisk's head. He shot them slowly downwards. There was enough room to dodge them in his viney pin if Frisk wanted to do as such. Would Frisk be an idiot and trust him? A soulless flower? Or be smart enough to know something was up. After all, he still didn't remove the vines that limited their available area to dodge.

Flowey was just... going to believe them? Just like that? Why hadn't he freed them yet? They really didn't want to die, so Frisk was still somewhat on edge even if they could communicate with Flowey now. They probably would've refused to fight him seriously and died if they didn't.

Healing magic? This scene... felt familiar. Like when they first met. They had fallen hook line and sinker into this current pattern of slow bullets, so it was engraved into them what to do. They stepped out of the way, unknowingly orange soul still sparking occasionally.

'I'm fine. I can heal at a SAVE point.' They said, lifting their hands up in a placating gesture. Acting like it hadn't happened or not-Flowey had been legitimately sobbing, and for him to get over it so quickly wasn't... good. 'You don't believe me, right? I left the bathtub full of water. Let me out and I'll show you.'

It didn't cross their mind that Flowey was simply pissed at them and wanted to see them suffer.

Flowey watched them move away from the bullets, frowning slightly now, "Oh... you missed them... I- I just want to fix the mistake I made. Honest, I know you can heal at a save point, but I'm trying to apologize with healing, I believe you, don't worry. Please, just accept my apology," He summoned more green pellets, this time shooting them down a bit faster at Frisk.

Of course he didn't believe them, they were just trying to buy time, to get away and save so that if they died their progress wasn't lost. After all, when even was the last time they saved? He didn't entirely know when they saved, but he knew for a fact between here and hotlands there were many save points, many places for Frisk to save so that they didn't have to redo this part of their fight.

Flowey was right, Frisk did want to SAVE, if only to preserve the evidence.

'You can apologize to me by letting me out.' Frisk said, a slight frown on their own face as they stepped out of the way again. They weren't going to get anywhere like this. It might be a moment of calm in terms of battling, but they felt like it could change very quickly. They shuddered at how far they would have to go to prove their point if Flowey decided he wasn't going to let them go. 'Just let me show you. I'll...'

That option always made them hesitate, try to rethink it, especially when Flowey was trying to heal them of all things. Just enough for Flowey's next turn.

"If you're already denying my apologies, then what makes you think I'll believe you'll accept freedom as an apology?" Flowey's face changed to where it looked like he was about to cry, actually allowing a single tear to form at the corner of his eyes. Flowey never willingly cried in front of Frisk, in fact.... he just recently gotten pissed that Frisk saw him crying like he was. Flowey just hoped the small act wasn't too obvious now.

"Please... just accept my apology.... then we can go, I'll let you show me the bathtub as proof... okay?" He fired a final round of green pellets at them.

Why was Flowey so insistent on healing them? Was he trying to tell them something? Frisk didn't want to do the option they were thinking about. Accepting Flowey's 'apology' sounded a lot better. So much so that when the green bullets went towards them, they pushed their doubts aside, reached up and touched one.

Ow?! Their soul flickered. Frisk looked down to it. Why was it... orange- they understood very quickly what Flowey was trying to tell them, and gave him a deadpan look. He could switch the rules that had been ingrained into them for years now? This... was not good. They were definitely going to die. They were really going to have to go with their option...

They took out their phone, raised it up, and smashed it onto the ground. Stomping on it to make a point. Sorry Alphys.

Flowey's expression changed to an evil toothy grin at the sight of Frisk finally falling for their attack, "You... you actually fell for it!! You're such..." he paused, his face quickly morphing to one of confusion as Frisk smashed their phone to the ground. Wait.. why did they...?

"Wait... Why did you destroy your phone..?" His face twisted to one of anger, "I thought you said you were only okay with staying down here if you could keep in contact with everyone!? Does that mean... no. You're not going to leave, I'm not letting you!" Seems Flowey took the action as Frisk saying they were going to leave, "Even if it means killing you over and over again to force you to stay!!"

He removed the vines, he didn't need them anymore after all.

Instead, he replaced them with rings of orange and blue pellets, firing at Frisk in the following order: Blue, orange, Blue.

Frisk did shock Flowey like they wanted... but then he took it in the opposite manner that they wanted him to take! There was no time to explain. They focused on the bullet patterns. There was more blue-stay sti-no, move! Orange is stay still! The orange ring hit them and they hissed. 

Flowey cackled darkly at seeing Frisk get hit again. Yes, he had a chance! Even if they would eventually learn to avoid his attacks and not be bothered by them... for now he could win this, he could at least get them to reset once, to pay for making him so scared!

'I'm not trying to escape! I just need to show you even if I cut off my friends! I will reset!' They tried to explain, feeling dizzy now. No... Flowey would never believe them if they died! They had to find some sort of way to survive this! Their soul sparked once more, and like a match hitting tinder something in their soul finally caught alight.

He didn't even pay attention to what they were trying to mouth to him, instead summoning several green rings of pellets around them, each of them spaced to where they circled slowly around them and tried to close in. There was some room to dodge however, Flowey wanted at least some kind of entertainment from this. Instantly killing them wouldn't be as fun.

The magic inside of them hadn't ever shown itself. Their soul was completely human after all, and even if they were around magic all the time their soul needed real time, not their reset time, to adjust to it. And now, this battle had dragged it out. Matching their soul's color, it took the shape of small wings of orange light, lifting them off the ground slightly. They were so focused on what the next bullet pattern might be that they didn't notice.

... Wait, what were they doing. He didn't stop his ring of pellets, but his face changed to one of confusion, his laughter stopping as Frisk lifted themself off of the ground. What the-?

Frisk knew they were pretty fast, but when they zig-zagged through the green pellets it felt a little too easy, like their feet weren't meeting the resistance of the ground at all! They wondered if Flowey had made his pellet rings extra slow or something?

From Flowey's view Frisk would spin around, look for the bullet ring, and fly through the invisible pathway out, showing off their new wings. The wings would flutter and move with them, obviously aiding their movement.

Frisk blearily realized their feet weren't on the ground and kicked around. They looked at their soul and saw colored lines over their chest, leading to... a pair of orange wings on their back. They looked to Flowey incredulously. 'Did you just give me wings???' They mouthed. Why was he making it easier for them???

Flowey stopped summoning his attacks entirely.

"Frisk what the fuck?" He said bluntly, the anger in his expression completely gone and replaced with pure confusion, "How are you flying!?" He shook his head, no, this didn't make sense. Just like them summoning a 'last dream' didn't make sense. Although, he didn't question them about that because they were kinda off, and they had managed to make them during his fight.

... what in the world was going on here?

He became rather... curious to say the least. There was no way he was hitting them like this. He allowed their soul to turn back to red, and then summoned a ring of green healing pellets around them to actually heal them this time around. He wondered if they would try to avoid those, too.

As Frisk's soul turned back to red, the light wings became red too.

... If it wasn't Flowey, then why were they flying? Frisk kicked at the ground, trying to reach it, and the wings of course sent them forward and spinning in the air. Oh ow NOT good for their dizziness. They held their head, they felt like they were going to faint. Where were the bullets? Frisk sensed them and couldn't dodge them, so they stood still and ignored it like they did before. Er, floated still.

They snapped back to alertness when their HP was restored. They tried to speak. "..." Nope, not happening. HP kept them alive, not fully functioning.

 _Let me down!_ Frisk thought intensely, and the wings not-so-gently threw them onto the ground. The wings seemed to lower, gravity returned, and they sat up wondering if this was a really weird dream...

'I dunno. You feel like coming to the hotel with me now?' They said, still set on their goal even with these changes.

"..." Flowey didn't say anything, before growing a vine to try and poke their wing. He wasn't quite ready to spare them, "Not really... I was kinda having fun fighting you. Can't we just... continue playing?" He smiled, "I want to see what those things can do!" He giggled a bit, before summoning a ring of coloured pellets around them once more when he finished speaking.  
The order was, Blue, orange, orange, blue, blue.

This time however, after each ring hit they'd swap their soul colour between red and orange just to screw with them even more.

Frisk scrunched up their face a bit at Flowey wanting to keep playing. Was it because of the wings? They didn't care about new magic wings! They looked back to the curious vine and let Flowey poke the wings. They both seemed intangible, but they felt warm like the LastDream did- kind of like a hot, bubbling bath without being wet. Frisk leaned away after a moment, it wasn't exactly painful but the pressure did feel weird.

Pellets were summoned. Alright, back to action then. Their wings sprung up and lifted them off the ground, and they just didn't have time to think about it as they focused on the rings. Their soul wasn't orange, so- they moved and the orange magic hurt them. They stood still for orange and got hit again. They figured out the pattern then and moved through the blue ring and stood still for the second one. Their wings changed with their soul color, but stayed solid when their soul flickered as it got hurt.

The thing about that orange magic was that they could barely sense it! They focused on their own soul, their wings matching their mood as they spread out and stayed still. They'd talk to Flowey again, but not right now.

Flowey grinned darkly, before leaving their soul orange and summoning a wave of green pellets around them. there was a single white pellet in the mix of the zig zagging green pellets. About every 5 seconds Flowey would summon a ring of green pellets around them that would hit them regardless of what action they took.

Of course, that's why Flowey added in the single white pellet. He didn't want Frisk to have no fighting chance, that wouldn't be any fun after all!

Their soul was orange. The dancing pellets didn't dissuade Frisk, they were used to movement dodges, and they weaved through them despite the green death pellet circles hitting them. They touched the white bullet, and winced as the next death circle got them to 1 HP. Their vision extremely blurry, they held on, their eyes closed as they completely focused on the magic within and around them, everything else fading to black with the barrier of the room itself the only border.

"Golly, it must be really fun to be able to fly! How long until those wings vanish?...." he paused, a look of horror showing on his face for a moment before being replaced with a dark grin, "... Actually... it seems like I really do need to kill you. So no more playing around!"

Frisk... could fly.

And with how nimble they were? He wouldn't be able to stop them if they decided they wanted to fly out of the ruins where they originally fell down. He had to kill them, Frisk didn't seem to know how they summoned them after all, so if he could reverse this... somehow.... Even if it meant killing them to make them reset. In fact, that seemed like the best option.  
And after all was said in done, he would have to make sure they never got a chance to gather the strength to summon those wings again.

*Flowey isn't going to play easy from here on out.

Frisk’s heart plummeted as Flowey decided that he did have to kill them. And it wasn't even because they were missing for so long anymore... _How are you gonna get out of this conundrum, Frisk?_ They wondered. They could... probably try fleeing. If they got past the throne room the ceiling was definitely high enough for them to avoid Flowey... But that would be counterproductive. They could try to minimize the threat of them escaping, but there wasn't any way to tie or cut off their wings either!

'I don't know! They just appeared out of nowhere!' They replied, 'I'm going to reset anyway so just let me lead you to the hotel. Maybe you could hold onto me like I'm a balloon or something…’

Flowey decided to ignore Frisk for the time being. He didn't care what they tried to mouth at him, and grew even more excited as they dropped down to 1 HP.

He turned their soul red once more, a ring of white pellets surrounding them, "Say... Before I kill you... where did you reset last? I want to meet you there," he tilted his head a bit, a mischievous look in his eyes, watching the pellets dance around Frisk. This would be quick. He studied them now, actually taking the time to read their lips if they decided to answer. Frisk wouldn't entirely lie about their reset point. For whatever reason they wanted him to trust them. Hilarious, because they didn't even try to motion to their own body, to say 'look at me, look at how cleaner I look now'. He didn't need to see a tub full of water to know they weren't lying. He just didn't care. Flowey was just mad they ran off without waiting for him. He wasn't gone that long after all. They scared him, they made him cry and then walked up to him and had the audacity to give him worthless pity. Frisk cried because of the state he saw them in. He would never truly forgive them for that.

There was a sort of irony in learning to fly only to get killed in midair. They had a sinking feeling that they weren't going to win this regardless, Determination was a harsh teacher when it came to new magic and attacks. But now, at least, Flowey seemed a bit more calm than his blind rage before. Or maybe that was even worse. They weren't sure. They've known him for so long but... right now it felt like they didn't know him at all.

'I'm near the Lab, at the elevator. I'm with Toriel on the phone.' They mouthed to Flowey, and looked to the pellets in a rather dejected manner. They would figure out something next time. They always did. They braced themselves.

Flowey nodded, "Alright, wait for me there or I'll throw you into the lava in hotlands, got it?" he playfully winked at them, before sending the pellets towards Frisk. He braced for a reset to happen. He hoped that Frisk listened. Hmm... and how exactly was he even going to make sure that they lost the strength to grow those wings again? He'd have to think about it.... actually, he might have an idea. He'd have to be careful to not go too crazy with his plan though, or they'd die instead. Not that it was entirely a bad thing at this point.

Frisk, now kind of accepting that they were going to have to RESET, gave Flowey a slightly forced grin and thumbs up before they felt their soul shatter. Their wings shattered with it, and it might have been an almost pretty sight to see the pieces scatter out and fade like petals if everything wasn't just suddenly... reset again.

Flowey would find that he was actually on his way to hotlands during that time. Well... no time like the present than to head back to where Frisk told them right?

He headed to the exact spot Frisk informed him to go.

Toriel’s voice was back, replying, _"I will, and you come home soon alright? I'd be more than happy to have your friend come with you as well if you wanted...."_ she gave a slightly worried expression, _"You still do not know when you will return home, correct?"_

It had been a long time since they had died. Frisk gripped their phone and clutched their chest, gasping for air as the world felt like it was closing in on them for a few moments. Resetting always felt like waking up from a terrible nightmare... They stomped as the sense of gravity came back to them and nearly made them topple over.

They coughed a few times, and then noticed their phone was unmuted. Oops. Toriel might have heard their brief panic attack.

[I do not knoww when I'll return.] Frisk texted Toriel with slightly shaky hands, sat on the ground, legs over the edge, looked to the fiery magma below. It was... really hot down here, they noticed drily. They looked for Flowey, and then back to their phone. [I'll have to get back to you, okay? Love you mom.]

_“Are you alright...?”_

[Yes. Just coughed on my own spit lol Cya later] Frisk texted back numbly. They couldn't focus very well at the moment for whatever reason, their chest trembling occasionally with adrenaline.

"I see.. well, I love you too, Frisk. Be good, won't you?"

They nodded and ended the call.

Frisk didn't seem to care that Flowey killed them either when he showed up, not making any movement to stand or even face them when he popped out of the ground to watch the bubbling below with them. They could sorta sense where he was, and it was enough for them to lay back on the ground and sigh gruffly. 'Let's go back to the lab it's too hot.' They typed onto the phone's notepad and showed Flowey.

Flowey looked over at Frisk and smiled, "hmm..." he then grew a vine and wrapped it around their wrist. It moved slowly, as if trying to not show any threat, "Can I hold your wrist while we walk back? Since you're so quick to change your mind about getting a shower at the hotel."

Frisk blinked. Oh right, they wanted to take a shower. It felt like their body had a delayed response, as if just realizing that it needed some things.

[That's a good idea. What if I carried you?] They texted with their free hand and showed Flowey. They kind of wondered why Flowey didn't just push them into the lava or at least tease that he was going to but hey, they weren't going to judge.

Flowey giggled a bit, shaking his head before smiling at them with a hidden joy in his eyes. Almost like... he was planning something.

The grasp on their wrist tightened to a point that restricted blood flow immediately, thorns growing from it to poke into it all the while, "Ya know. I'm still pissed," was all he said, before using said vine to try yeeting Frisk into the lava.

Frisk shrugged at Flowey shaking his head. He could scuttle besides them, then- they looked back at him when his grip tightened, their adrenaline and soul sparking up what seemed to be a right time before the vine pulled to throw them. Frisk dropped their phone to latch onto Flowey’s vine in a death grip of their own, the thorns puncturing through their hand but ironically giving them a better grip. They might be still numb and panicked from dying but were NOT going down without a FIGHT!

 _Really? We’re going to do this here?_ Frisk thought, uncaring of how much blood was spilling down their arms in order to glare at Flowey instead. They couldn’t do much when he actually caught them, not unless they actually lashed out…

A vine lowered to wipe some of the blood off their arm, before deciding to bring it back to himself and inspect it. He never really saw human blood before. Chara didn't have a bloody death after all.

He unrooted a single root, and then used said root to absorb some of the blood he had gathered. Flowey stared at Frisk the whole time he did this, curious as to what their reaction would be to him consuming their blood. He hated to admit it, but he could already feel the extra nutrients that was provided to him. Huh, human blood was healthy for him. How odd, and fascinating.

Frisk watched Flowey closely, hanging there a bit limply in a sick fascination of what he was doing. Was... Flowey... eating them? Dumbfounded and somewhat disgusted, they made a face and tried to reason with it. They did eat from some monsters, if mostly their soul sucking green magic? If that counted. But... like, humans were kinda gross. Their hands gave a stab of shock-white nerve pain, and they tightened their grip in response. Things were too calm, their sense of pain was coming back.

They shook their head and continued to struggle..

Flowey giggled, and then summoned pellets. He didn't aim them at Frisk though, he aimed them at the vine that Frisk clung to, "Aww do you really think that will help you?" He gave them an evil toothy grin, "Because it won't!" He cackled evilly, before starting to shoot his own vine to try and sever it, not even caring about the pain he inflicted on himself.

Frisk knew it was probably useless, Flowey was pretty strong, but they needed to do something other than hang there like a ragdoll! But then they could feel the vine loosening with every bullet hitting his vine, and swung their legs back, and forth, and back and forth- ripping their hand from Flowey's grip, they used the momentum to launch themselves back onto the rocky ledge. Red sparks flew out of their soul for a moment before they landed, slipped, but then grabbed a rock to pull themselves back onto the ground, leaving bloody handprints smears.

 _He has to get tired of this eventually!_ Frisk thought.

Flowey frowned, but didn't attack them any further. He knew it would be pointless, Frisk would likely dodge any attack he dished out at them anyways. He instead watched them intently, as if this were an interesting movie where he wondered what happened next. The injured vine went back into the soil.

"Well that was unexpected..." he paused, and then slowly smiled, "I thought you'd die for sure again! And you didn't even bring out your wings hehe!" He was smiling brightly now, "You don't know how to use those things do ya?" It was almost as if he was acting like throwing Frisk towards the lava was a test.

Frisk didn't look too convinced this time around as their soul sparked again. But after a few seconds of silence, they let their sparky soul flicker out, deciding that they wouldn't smile back. Maybe Flowey didn't want them to be friendly when he was mad. Their usual games of dancing around each other's feelings were probably corrupted by the fact that they saw him have that absolutely awful breakdown.

They shook their head, breathing in and out, and got up, their hands still bleeding, and-if Flowey didn't attack them again- reached out towards the Save Point- not to save, just to heal. Their trickles of blood would stop then.

'You made me a mess.' Frisk mouthed to him, shaking their arms like they were covered in something gross before picking up their phone. Save points luckily sealed wounds like this, but didn't take away the spilled blood.

"Hehe you're going to get cleaned up anyways right?" He grew a vine, about to poke Frisk with it, if only to see if they flinched away.

That was when a sudden flood of memories from the brief moment he was Asriel resurfaced. He paused, and then instantly withdrew the vine that tried to poke them, his face turned into one of Asriel's, a look of horror flickering into view before he just... dipped into the ground and didn't show himself.


	6. Stay or Go

Tired of all the negativity, Frisk was honestly going to (gently) grab the vine approaching and wipe their blood on it like it was a towel in an irritated but playful manner, but when they looked back suddenly Flowey had Asriel's face and looked horrified. And then he was gone, ducked underground.

He. He was doing strange things again. He just killed Frisk and felt amusement, and then almost killed them again for fun. Flowey figured they would need a moment, because he knew he sure did.

He ran back to Alphys, going inside and deciding to look at the computer. Frisk had left a message…

Some friend he was. He... was really losing himself again, wasn't he? How long... had it been since he actually really considered Frisk as a friend? He shook his head. He couldn't remember, it had been too long of a time. He didn't care if Frisk left this time, not right now anyways.

Frisk stood there, pressing their lips together, swallowing and cringing at their throat a bit. Did Asriel resurface for a moment? They thought he was gone.

They weren't going to wait here for Flowey, nor did they think going to the hotel was a good idea anymore. The hotel might as well be cursed at this point with how fate seemed to be shaking its head at it...

 _Find him_. They decided, going in the direction of Alphys's lab. If they heard crying, they were gonna go in the opposite direction. Maybe. Probably. Okay, it depended on the context.

Flowey sulked a bit in the lab, but he wasn't crying. His face was still of Asriel's as he took some deep breaths. He thought back to every time Frisk visited him. He kept trying to push them away, even when he was still somewhat himself. He didn't want this to have happened, he didn't want to completely lose himself and have Frisk fall in the crossfire.... and... that's exactly what happened wasn't it.

Gosh, he wished he wasn't so scared of trying to erase himself again. If Frisk never knew he was gone…

He shivered at the thought. Nope, he was still scared of the idea, it wasn't an option. Hopefully Frisk made the smart decision of going to mtt hotel and bathing. He would be fine for the moment.

He still couldn't feel anything, but he could recall the memories of what he had felt.

Flowey didn't deserve a friend like Frisk, he didn't deserve their kindness.

Frisk stepped into the lab. They could hear breaths, but not crying. They decided to walk quietly passed Flowey, giving him a wide berth not looking at him, waved hello to Alphys' camera, and then moved and rattled the computer chair to catch his attention if he was still sulking or ignored them. If he got angry at them again, they were fine with it. They very pointedly pointed to the computer if he looked at them, at their message from before.

Flowey flinched at the sound of the lab doors opening, glancing over at them with his Asriel face still. He wondered why they came, but he already knew the answer. Despite it all, Frisk cared about him. Even before they knew he was Asriel they cared about them.

He looked at the computer they pointed to, forcing his face to go to an expressionless Flowey one, "What is it Frisk... why did you come back here? You're still a mess," the words sounded a bit lifeless and monotone, before he stretched up and looked at the computer to see if it read anything different.

It said the same message, telling Flowey that they were going to Mettaton's hotel. Frisk crossed their arms, making sure he saw the message before seeming to relax again when he did. They seriously didn't want him to cry like that again.

They gave him a long meaningful look before walking back out where they came. Maybe... the computer was too tall to notice. Maybe next time they'd leave a message on the ground and maybe put like, glitter around it. Mettaton's hotel had a lot of that stuff.

Flowey watched them go. Oh, so they just wanted him to know they weren't leaving. He sighed, because despite what just happened he knew what he was going to do.

He dipped into the soil and decided to follow them secretly from behind. He hated it but, he knew if he stayed where he was he was just going to become bored. Maybe if he followed frisk it would allow him to continue to think about how what he did was wrong. 

If Frisk looked back towards him at any point he would instantly dip into the ground, as if trying to not be seen.

Frisk rode the elevator to Mettaton's hotel and walked inside, sometimes flexing their hands to see if they still worked alright. They were a bit sore, but manageable. They did pause on the top of the staircase and look back when they heard something, but they could only glimpse a flash of yellow petals. They decided to pretend they hadn't noticed anything and went inside.

They went through the same motions as they did last reset, if a bit faster since they already knew their mistakes and how things were today. They wrote down their homework's answers and struggled a bit in showing their work for it to send to Toriel.

They... did not like repeating these actions as much as they did before the first time. They got them done too quickly. What would take three hours only took about an hour and a half, and when their now-steamy-sparkly-clean self finished their homework they wondered what to do next. SAVE, maybe? This felt like a good 'self' to be in when they died again…

Flowey seemed to also be following them through the insides of the MTT Hotel. Surprisingly he didn't break any floorboards.

Instead morphing his face and body to be able to squeeze through any cracks and reappear above them. He was able to sink down just as quickly if noticed though.

If Frisk did notice this, he hoped they didn't ask why he broke floorboards that he didn't entirely need to break.

It was just fun okay? To destroy stuff that couldn't feel any pain.

…

It was about an hour and a half before he decided to pop out in front of Frisk, breaking open the floorboard in front of them to make his presence more obvious, "Howdy Frisk! Finally got the blood off I see?" He smiled happily at them, as if nothing was wrong, as if nothing weird had happened that day, "Boy, it's getting pretty late ain't it?"

Frisk had been sitting at the front desk, finished homework around them, chin rested in their hands as they considered their options. They jumped when Flowey popped out of the floorboards so suddenly. They gave him a thumbs-up, and looked at their phone. It was... just passed 12. It felt like much, much longer.

Their voice still didn't work, of course. It was annoying.

What were they going to do today? They couldn't remember their plans from before everything went terribly wrong. They kind of just wanted to sleep so their throat could get better faster, and process all that happened. Not being able to talk was not fun at all and it was messing with their communication with Flowey.

[You tired? I'm gonna take a nap.] They showed Flowey their phone.

Flowey didn't nod or shake his head, deciding to instead sigh out, "Hey Frisk... just wanted to say before that, I'm sorry. I haven't been a good friend," he frowned slightly, "I'll be honest. I haven't seen you as a friend for a long while now... just a toy to play with."

Telling Frisk was the right thing to do, they deserved to know how he viewed them, "So... I'm sorry about everything..."

Flowey's words were odd. Suspicious, even. Frisk hesitated, but then cautiously considered it.

Frisk was okay if Flowey thought of them like that, or even hated them. As long as he could trust them, and let them at least try to help him. They knew they couldn't peacefully die knowing that he was down here, suffering, and they were the only one who had a chance of helping him. They weren't expecting a reward for this. In fact, it was probably going to ruin their life the way things were going. But that was okay. They couldn't settle for a calm, happy life. Not when they were so determined to make things right.

They crouched in front of Flowey, and typed on their phone.

[I know you think I'm some sort of toy. I don't care what you think of me. I just want to help you out.] They paused, and couldn't help but add, [But if you considered me a friend, that would be nice. Do you want to try?]

It felt like a selfish request at this point.

Flowey frowned slightly, "... you're tired, go get some sleep okay?" He didn't answer their question. He wanted to, he really did, but he didn't think it mattered. Flowey already lost himself, he wasn't sure it mattered if he started considering Frisk a friend or not. He was still trapping them down here, and ao long as Frisk was locked in the underground he couldn't truly call himself their friend, it wouldn't be right.

It would be an empty phrase with no meaning, just as empty as he was.

Taking it as a rejection, it stung to hear him say that. Even if they said they didn't care. It would have been nice, after all.

 _What else should you tell him?_ Frisk wondered. Oh yeah, there was that other misunderstanding...

[For future reference, if I destroy my phone willingly it means I'm going to RESET to my last save point.] Frisk showed Flowey.

Flowey nodded. He didn't care if Frisk got hurt from what he told them. He wasn't about to give them an empty truth after all.

"Okay, and I really am sorry... Frisk..." he decided to start following them as they walked away, back towards their hotel room, "I'm not myself anymore. I'm a threat. You need to get out of here whenever you get the chance okay? Before I start acting strange again, because it will happen. The only way you're going to help me is by ensuring everyone's happy ending stays happy.... You need to stop making Toriel worry."

Flowey’s voice had a quality that was easy to understand even as they walked into the hotel room. The polite thing to do would be to stop and listen, but Frisk was kind of grumpy right now and didn’t really like being lectured on what to do!

 _This is a weird game you’re playing Flowey._ Frisk thought. It’s almost like Asriel was trying to get them out of here before his flower self came back. But that was impossible... right? There were some pretty impossible things happening today though. It might be worth it to not ignore him.

He popped up once more in the hotel room they entered, squeezing through the cracks like they were water and not breaking a single floorboard. Frisk blinked at the way Flowey came in. No destroying hapless floorboards?

[I have some things I want to try so I can help. I’ll tell you about them when my voice comes back.] Frisk showed Flowey their phone, and tried to clear their throat. Nope, no good. [Can you trust me?] They added. They highly doubted Flowey would but it might give them a hint about what to do next.

Flowey read the msg and then paused, before slowly nodding, "I do trust you Frisk... but... I'm a lost cause, really," he sighed, "nothing you can do will help me. I've only been keeping you here because I was bored. I only cried because I thought you left and I would be bored again. It wasn't even because I would miss you... it was just because I feared that I would be bored..."

Flowey sulked a bit, "Honestly you shouldn't care about me. I know you won't stop but... you have to understand. I'm a lost cause. It... would make me happy if you just gave up on me..." despite his words, it didn't seem like he would wind up happy if Frisk gave up on him. His voice dropped and went quieter at the end, despite looking up to them and forcibly smiling.

He started to think he shouldn't be telling Frisk this. He knew he was going to change his mind, that he would take back what he said about wanting Frisk to leave. He probably would turn around and tell Frisk he was just testing them. He didn't want to lose himself again....

Frisk smiled knowingly and shook their head at the 'give up on me' part. Flowey didn't seem to mean it. They didn't come down here for nothing. They didn't want to go through all that for nothing. They had a plan, a hope, a dream.

So he was just really bored...? Frisk ironically seemed to brighten up at his words. They could definitely help with that! And they didn't even have to be here to do that! They almost wanted to tell him their almost-formed plans right now, but that would probably ruin them. They needed to be in top shape. They anticipated to be fought about it.

[Have faith in me!] They showed him with a big toothy grin, a bit like Undyne’s.  
.  
Flowey wondered why they seemed to brighten up at his words. Why did they seem to become happy? Did they... enjoy the fact that he only wanted them for his own selfish reasons? Because he was bored?

He studied the phone as they showed it to him, and stared at their toothy grin, a slightly confused expression showing in his eyes, "Haha... Frisk you really are something aren'tcha? ..." he paused, and then looked away from them and at his dialogue bubble, "Get some sleep though. You need to rest if you want to gain your voice back..."

Their fingers touched their neck gently and nodded, and then tilted their head and hand in a 'Well I was going to do that anyway' sort of manner. They walked around Flowey to lift the covers of the gigantic bed and crawl inside. They made their way to the pillows and grabbed one into the blankets to wrap around and eventually fall asleep.

 _The events of today have taught me a lot... I wonder if Flowey will keep pretending like that. It's kind of nice._ They thought, and felt a little bad for thinking that. But they were a quick sleeper, and their tired mind fell asleep.

Flowey stayed where he was, watching them for a moment as they slept before silently leaving the room.

Before he completely changed his mind about this, he needed to clear the cave-in. He wouldn't say anything to Frisk, and he knew as soon as it was cleared it would be too dangerous to cause another one. After all, too many cave-ins risked the entire underground to collapse.

He only had so much more time before he lost himself.

By the time morning would come he would be done with clearing the exit away with his vines, and would quickly return. He was starting to regret the choice he made, but it wasn't like he could undo it..... not unless Frisk reset.....

.... that sounds ..

like a wonderful idea actually

He popped up in the hotel room for now, quickly checking to see if Frisk was awake or not.  
Guess he lost himself again faster than he thought he would, much to his distaste.

Frisk dreamed about Flowey's battle, of orange blue, white green, the vines... They woke up around early morning holding their chest and gasping for a few moments, as if trying to shield their sparking soul with their hand. They closed their eyes, trying to engrave that memory of the orange magic onto themselves further. They were probably going to feel it again today.

 _It's been a while since I had a dream like that._ They thought, peeking out of the covers. Huh... they didn't see Flowey anywhere. Did he go to water himself again? They wondered, climbing under the covers and sliding out onto the floor. They got up and walked outside the hotel to the SAVE point.

 _Okay, body's good-do I have my voice?_ Frisk took a deep breath in and after a few tries made a "Haaaaaahh-h." sound. They grinned. "Perfect!" They cheered. They couldn't go up to their usual volume but this was a lot better than nothing. They reached out the SAVE point and saved in front of the hotel. Their SAVE point seemed to like their hopeful attitude.

*Your plans for the future fill you with DETERMINATION!

Frisk checked their phone. Okay, they had some time before class. Although, they might miss it entirely. They walked back inside to their hotel room.

Just when they were sitting and crossing their boots on the bed Flowey showed up.

"Hey Flowey!" They called, bright eyed and bushy-tailed apparently.

Flowey smiled over at them, "Hey Frisk! You're up already it seems," he tilted his head a bit to get a better look at them, "And you can speak now, that's wonderful!" Frisk nodded cheerfully.

He ducked into the floorboard, before breaking one next to the bed to pop back up. The poor floorboard. "I have a favor to ask of ya though," he winked happily, "I did something dumb last night while ya slept... do you think you could reset it? If not I'll make you but..." he giggled a bit, "I thought if I was going to try this friend stuff I'd ask first!"

Frisk tilted their head and swayed from side to side. "I appreciate the effort! Hmmm..." Flowey wasn't gonna like this, "You're probably gonna have to deal with it. I just SAVED again like, 15 minutes ago. Whatcha mess up?"

They uh... really hoped he didn't accidentally kill anyone or something last night.

Flowey paused, and then frowned, ".... I killed Toriel," he lied, "She apparently was trying to go to the underground to visit Chara's grave..." he then smiled brightly, "But golly, if you already saved then guess it's to late!"

They couldn't have saved right? If they were lying they'd probably reset right then and there, so... here's to hoping they were lying for once.

Either way, at least he'd get an interesting response from them for this.

Just as Flowey said that, Toriel texted them.

Toriel:  
*Good morning Frisk. I hope you slept well. Is your voice still lost?

Frisk slumped at Flowey's words. _Well... that's what you get for hating to repeat timelines Frisk._ They thought glumly, and then looked at their phone. Oh. Why did Flowey lie to them? They kept their face blank.

[My voice is back! Good morning mom!] They texted, and then got up. They didn't know if they were going to miss her class or not... They probably would, though. It was time for Phase 1!

"I'm going to the Lab, alright?"

Flowey studied their expression, watching them slump. They didn't reset though, instead they texted someone on their phone, and then stated how they were going to the lab... did they text Toriel? Did they assume he lied...?

He then froze. One of the cameras were pointed to the barrier cave-in-

"I don't think you should!" He then popped up in front of Frisk to block their path, "Why don't we stay here instead!" He forced a smile, "Isn't it nice here? Or maybe we can go to the ruins?"

Was Flowey tired of Hotland? Frisk couldn't blame him. It was like being in an oven. The Ruins or Waterfall probably felt a lot better on his roots.

"Hey I'm all for a change of scenery! But there's something I wanna give you in Alphys's lab!" They chirped, trying to walk around him, "We can go somewhere else later!" Although they probably might end up fighting there if Flowey loses his cool.

"What is it, I can go get it for you!" Flowey tried blocking their way again, a nervous smile forming on his face, "you REALLY don't need to go in there... or... just at least- let me do something there first and wait here okay?" He seemed really intent on not letting Frisk go there. It was almost as if he was trying to hide something.

Toriel:  
*That's wonderful news Frisk! I'm glad your voice has returned. Hopefully it will stay intact by the time class starts today. And oh, It's MK's birthday today. Be sure to wish him a happy birthday!

"No, no, I have to be there! Or else it won't work!" Frisk chuckled, the more Flowey kept denying them to go somewhere the more they wanted to go there and look around! "So wha-" Ding Frisk paused and looked at their phone. They texted back at the speed of sound.

[Me too! It feels fine. Thanks for reminding me!] They texted Toriel.

[Happy Birthday dude!] They texted MK.

This only took a few seconds, and they then focused on Flowey again. "What's in there, huh?" They asked, a mischievous curiosity gleaming in their smile, "Didja break the computer or something?"

Flowey frowned, "no you don't!! What are you even trying to do in there??" He seemed to be panicking a bit, actually summoning some vines to try and grab them right as they looked at their phone.

"It doesn't matter you're not allowed in there!!" Flowey protested. Whatever was in Alphys’ lab he clearly didn't want them to see it.

Toriel  
*Anytime my child!

MK  
*Yo thanks dude! I'm totally ganna ditch school today. Don't tell Toriel though haha. Someone gave me money for the arcade so I'm ganna spend my bday there today!

Frisk did take some jump-steps back at the sound of vines being summoned, the vines missing them by millimeters, their back slamming into a wall. "Whoah!" They ignored any other texts, putting their phone away. "No! I gotta be there! I saw you using the computer before. I wanna show you the wonders of the under-internet." They decided to reveal it a bit early, if only to make Flowey come out of his weird funk-wait, he was definitely hiding something. They bounced on their feet, they were not putting this off! They would have to run there then if he didn't chill out!

Flowey frowned, and then ducked into the ground, trying his best to race to the lab. His act likely made Frisk want to get there faster after all... and well... let's be honest. There was no way that he could catch Frisk while they were on their guard.

Frisk was faster than him, and would likely get there before him, but he could still try right?

Frisk had SAVED preparing to fight Flowey, so it was safe to say they were on their guard around Flowey even if they did get distracted.

The moment he ducked under the ground, Frisk ran down the hallway to the entrance. The pellets were easily avoided, but their soul sparked into sight briefly if any of them got too close. Frisk was slowed down somewhat, enough for Flowey to almost match their speed. But since the pellets were fired carelessly they would adapt to them and speed up. The stairs also slowed them down until they leaped off the last seven steps and rolled onto the ground to absorb the shock.

They had to punch the elevator button and slipped through the doors, poking the 1st Floor button along the way.

Their phone ding'd again, but they completely ignored it.

The pellets stopped as Frisk entered the elevator....Flowey popped up and quickly jumped inside alone with them.

He smiled up at them as the door closed, "Nice day today huh?" He asked, not even attacking them while the elevator moved. It was like how Undyne stayed still when Frisk pulled out their phone to answer Papyrus, a silly break that made almost no sense. As soon as the elevator door opened of course the race would continue, and Flowey would start it by putting a ring of pellets around them so he could jump back into the soil.

Frisk smiled back, leaning back casually against the wall and putting one foot against it, as if they completely and utterly expected this (they did not), "I know right? Perfect day for a picnic."

The ding was like the gunshot of the start of another race, and Frisk pushed their foot off the wall to get a head start on their speed. They instinctively skidded to slow down when the pellets appeared, but quickly remembering their autohit function they started again, running straight through them.

They arrived around the same time, and Frisk would do their best to go through the lab's front doors before Flowey could seal them.

Flowey popped up in the lab... but instead of trying to seal the door his reaction was to grow vines from the ground to stab the TV. Several more innocent tiles were destroyed in the process.

If Frisk was able to quickly see the screen, it showed the exit to the underground, the rubble cleared to the side.

A single vine could be seen in the rubble, one of the thorns with dried blood on it from when Frisk had grabbed ahold of it. Seems that clearing the rubble had caused the vine to snap. He had weakened it when trying to make Frisk fall after all.

Glass shattered around the room, and unknowingly to Flowey, Alphys made the same image show up on the computer, having hacked into it.

Frisk ran in just as Flowey quite dramatically destroyed the surveillance screen. It had to be something about the Underground then, but what was Flowey trying to hide from them?! They sighed and made their way to the computer- their original intent. But another movement caught their eye. The screen on the computer had changed.

They slowed to a walk and stared at what was there, drinking in the image. Why... was the rubble cleared? They could see the vine. Flowey had to have... cleared it. And he said he did something stupid... He would never just...

... That really was Asriel coming out. They realized, and felt a deep sinking feeling. So before wasn't a game! They could have taken that chance to carry out their plans then...!

Flowey seemed rather triumphant as he watched the tv screen shatter to bits, clearly unaware at the time being that Frisk saw the image on the computer, "Aha! Now you can't see the TV anymore!" Flowey looked ecstatic, and then glanced over to Frisk. Why were they staring at the computer like that? Did they not care about the damage he just did?

He grew his stalk to stare at the screen as well. Flowey froze, his eyes widening as he stared at the exact same thing Frisk did....

And then he summoned some pellets, aiming to fire them straight into the computer and destroy it.

Frisk jumped in the way of the pellets and absorbed their hits. A huff of pain left them as their soul flickered and stayed in sight.

"I already saw it!" They said, looking back at him. He couldn't take it back now. "What's the big deal about clearing the exit? Come on, I need this computer to show you stuff." They knew it was a huge deal, but they didn't want Flowey to panic.

Flowey frowned, a worried expression on his face, "...Because then you'll realize the mistake I made last night... and.. I can't cause another cave-in unless I want to risk the whole underground to collapse...." he looked away, and then sighed, "that's why I wanted you to reset. I... I was acting more like Asriel, and I'm regretting it now because I don't want the exit cleared... I don't want you to leave..."

As Flowey explained himself, Frisk calmed down enough for their soul to fade out of sight. They nodded. It seemed Asriel wanted them to go, but Flowey wanted them to stay. They had a synthesis in mind.

He sighed, shaking his head to try and quickly change the subject, "What were you even wanting to show me?"

They grabbed the cord from before and connected it to their phone so that it had connection to the internet. "Come up on the chair." They invited, and remained standing, clicking around to minimize the image of the cleared cave-in and to check on the network status. With that connected, they opened a browser. "I wanna show you how to use this." They tapped their foot on the ground, their adrenaline was still rushing a bit.

Flowey nodded, and then crawled up onto the chair with his roots and vines. One of the vines he used to move seemed shorter than the rest, some sap actually seeping out of it as it left the ground. Seems it was still injured, and he hadn't even said anything about it. Then again, injuries didn't mean as much to him with how many resets he had in the past. If anything, he hadn't even realized that it was hurting.

"You know I know how to use a computer right?" Flowey grumbled, "I'm not an idiot..."

"Yeah, but I don't think you had a connection to the inter-undernet down here. Or, the IU connection." Frisk said. The name was kind of a mouthful, so the humans were quick to shorten it. "The humans have an undernet of their own, and when the monsters were freed Alphys connected the monsters and human's networks so she could watch more anime, and then it spread like wildfire." They said, chuckling as they opened a few tabs.

"You can find out about almost anything on here. Talk to about anybody, too. I got a few websites to suggest..." They typed in some streaming and literary and art sites. It seemed that they hadn't noticed Flowey was injured, too focused on their goal.

Flowey nodded, and then swatted Frisk's hand away after a moment of watching them, "Why are you showing me this?" He turned and stared at them, "What's your goal? Are you trying to get me interested in the surface so I'll leave here with you? Is that what your plan is?" He narrowed his eyes, glaring slightly now, "I'm not an idiot Frisk... you're not doing this just because. You're still determined to save me... you're... just..." he stopped glaring, an open mouth shocked look on his face, "You really believe you can save me don't you? No matter how many times I tell you that it's impossible..."

Of course Frisk thought he was someone to be saved. This was Frisk he was talking about. He didn't fully believe that Frisk was down here to save him, not until just now. He figured Frisk was down here because they wanted to be a good friend, because they felt guilty about how lonely he was. It never occurred to them this was the actual reason they had stayed... they... weren't going to leave until he was 'saved' were they?

...

Haha. If his guess was right, then they'd be here forever. Just like he wanted them to be.

Frisk stopped trying to explain, lifting their hands from the computer and looking back at Flowey with a sheepish look. Yes, although they worded it differently, in the end they did want to save him... "At least save you from your boredom. It's nothing as heroic as you think." They replied, shrugging as they put their phone on silent and turned off the vibration. They stepped back from the computer. They were sure Flowey could figure the rest of the internet out on his own.

"Well, I mean. At first I sort of wanted to do that. But you mentioned that Alphys won't help you. So, here's my plan..." They took a few steps back more, "I'll leave my phone down here. You can entertain yourself with whatever you want on the IU. Meanwhile... it's just for a couple days at most, but... I want to leave and come back. Hopefully with something that can help you out." They smiled, a bit forced, "You said you trust me, right? I can't do this alone."

Flowey stared at them, his mouth still open in shock, before turning to a darkly fanged grin, "... I see.. so..." it then fell to one of slight sadness, "You... just.... wanted me to be okay with you leaving...." he forced a slight smile, slowly getting off the chair to connect to the soil from a destroyed tile, "... You... wanted to give me something to do so I would be distracted... so... you could..." he didn't seem to fully get what they were saying, or at least, the fact that they would return.

His face twitched a bit, before turning black with a red smile replacing it, a face he hadn't used before, "hehe..." without much warning, he shoot vines from the ground to try and block the exits, _**"You're not going to ever leave Frisk. What don't you get about that?"**_

*Flowey seems to want to make you stay. No matter the cost.

Seems he was planning on fighting Frisk again.


	7. If You're Scared, Close Your Eyes

Frisk’s soul sparked out again as soon as they saw that red smile. They took a breath in and focused with a glare, shrugging their sheepishness off like it was a mask. They were not ashamed of this plan. They just had to rationalize it out with Flowey... even if it meant fighting him again and again.

"No, I don't get it!" They said, loud and clear, "You only keep me around because you're bored, right?!"

But that wasn't going to stop them from trying to help him, maybe even save him.

*Frisk stands their ground!

"Yes, that's right I'm only keeping you here because I'm bored!! But you're an idiot if you think this thing will entertain me forever!" He chuckled darkly, his stalk growing from the ground to become even larger, "And you know what? Maybe I should use Asgore's tactic. Maybe I should destroy the option of Mercy, maybe I'll make you fight!!!" His injured vine grew from the ground, hovering above Frisk, before shooting down to aim at their mercy option. He wanted to ruin their ability to spare or flee, he wanted them to fight back.

At the same time, a second vine would emerge from the ground with a rusty dagger, dropping it on the ground in front of Frisk. He tilted his head a bit, still smiling with a red smile, "I'll even let you make the first attack!"

Of course. There still were options to act.  
*Spare (yes Spare was an act option lol)  
*Throw knife to the ground.  
*Reason  
*Check

Frisk had tried many times, but they had never been able to stop Asgore's trident throw that seemed to auto-aim to their soul and change it and keep something inside of it shattered, with something somewhat similar to colored magic, but without color. And then... well, they had to ACT, they had to do something or else they couldn't dodge any of the bullets patterns.

It was the same case with Flowey. The injured vine struck their chest despite their attempts to dodge it, not damaging them but messing with their soul. They were magically trapped; they couldn't get out of this battlefield now.

They caught the knife in the air. It was a familiar knife, one they fought Omega Flowey with many times. They knew that in order to repair their mercy; their will to not fight... they had to weaken Flowey. But, of course they didn't want to do that.

*Reason

"Of course it won't entertain you forever! It's just for a few days! I'm going to come back!"

"Haha! As if you'll actually come back! Stop wasting your turns on acting!" Flowey summoned 5 rings of blue pellets around them, randomly changing their soul orange without any warning.  
Flowey figured they weren't lying but... there was a chance that Toriel kept an eye on them, preventing them from leaving without her knowledge. There was a chance that even if Frisk wanted to return, they couldn't.

"That's why you're staying here, I won't let you leave again!" Of course... boredom wasn't the only reason he wanted Frisk to stay. He... he wasn't going to tell them how each time they left he was tempted to go with them, that if they left again he would follow.

There was... no way he would ever let them know that.

The creepiest part about Flowey at the moment... was that his mouth never moved as he spoke.

Their act options stayed the same.  
*Spare  
*Throw knife to the ground.  
*Reason  
*Check

Orange was so close to their red, but Frisk was ready and focused on their soul this time, so they walked through the rings of blue pellets.

Was Flowey focused on them attacking him? It made sense. Frisk could have killed him if they wanted to. They actually did kill him once, when he had scared them so much after the Omega Flowey fight. But now? They were older, they knew him better. They weren't afraid. They were determined. Their soul let out a bright array of orange sparks as their innate magic responded, but their wings didn't ignite quite yet...

In their mind, they weren't a child any more. They didn't need to forcefully end this FIGHT by weakening Flowey with useless ill intent. They needed to get through to him. They tossed the knife aside, away from them and Flowey, sending it skittering across the tiles and into the wall.

Flowey gave an annoyed look when Frisk threw the knife away, before grabbing it and dropping it back in front of them, "I'm not a dog, don't make me fetch it's annoying," he growled out.  
He turned their soul orange and made a wave of green pellets fly towards them. Every do often an orange unavoidable ring would fly at Frisk, making dodging extremely difficult since they would have to stay still, and hope they chose a good spot for the green pellets to not hit them.

The act options have changed  
*Spare  
*Do absolutely nothing. Don't even try to dodge attacks.  
*Reason  
*Check

If they picked up the knife again the act options would revert back to the previous ones.

Frisk ignored the knife entirely, not even looking at it as it dropped in front of them. They had grabbed it on reflex before, but they weren't going to again. They moved with the pellets just fine until they saw orange, and that meant stop, and one of the green pellets hit them. They pushed the distraught 'how unfair!' feeling away and focused. They could see a path, and gap where they could pause and let the orange rings go through them. They were at a lower HP at the end, their breaths a bit heavier as they struggled to keep holding on.

*Reason

"What makes you think I won't come back?! You said you trusted me, remember!"

"Because Toriel won't let you leave again! I'm not an IDIOT. She won't want to risk losing you for so long again!"

He studied their hp, before turning their soul red and healing them with unavoidable green pellets. Seems he didn't want to kill Frisk.

"I know YOU will want to come back, but that won't stop all of your friends from stopping you, from following you back to the underground!"

He repeated the same attack, but this time the pellets were white, and the rings alternated between orange and blue.

If they ever got to 1hp he would stop the attack early.

Although they took a step back, these pellets were unavoidable and they were healed again. They thought Flowey's bullet pattern would be the same as last time just reversed in color, and so the orange rings came and they noticed too late, moving right into a pellet. 

Why... didn't Flowey kill them right them and there before? He had every opportunity to. Did he plan on keeping them locked in here with him? Then, why were they even dodging?

But with their soul like this, they could only either keep reasoning with him or focus everything on keeping still. Flowey and their own attention would be split between arguing and fighting.

But, they decided to try to keep reasoning with him.

"I can handle my friends just fine! Toriel can't stop me from coming back, and... maybe some of them should follow me back if it means they can help you!"

 _ **"No one else can know I'm here. No one else but you and Alphys!"**_ Flowey snapped back instantly, his face twisting with rage, "If anyone else comes here I WILL KILL THEM. Do I make myself clear!?" He snarled out, before sending 6 rings at Frisk.

Blue, orange, blue, orange, orange, orange.

They also had their soul colour flip between orange and red.

Red, red, orange, red, orange, red.

 _Why?! Why won't you let anyone else come close to you even though you've been crying for help?! Are you that scared of yourself?_! Frisk wanted to scream in frustration, finally say those words they've been holding back for so long- but they couldn't, not with their soul like this. They already said their part. They could only manage a grimace.

They stayed still, moved, stayed sti-nope, moved through the ring, just barely stayed still for the orange, and then moved through the red. They hated this. They hated FIGHTing when both of them were so mad at each other. They were just going to get more and more mad at each other, weren't they?!

To make matters even worse, their soul reacted to their inner turmoil and their wings finally ignited into sight. Ironically, even with the increased movement potential they decided that they would devote their focus into staying still to see if Flowey would kill them. They both couldn't FIGHT like this! They couldn't say that thought! They were both going to end up doing something they'd regret!

Flowey fought until they got to 1hp, before instantly switching to throw healing green pellets their way, "Don't stop dodging, you'll make this boring. If you won't fight then at least give me a challenge of hitting you!" Flowey demanded, sending another wave of pellets after they were fully healed.

Each attack he sent had a way to dodge. None of them where his auto hitting pellets that were unavoidable.

This fight... he was just playing with Frisk.

And it was true, he was terrified of himself. He was terrified of what he would do, what he could do. Had Frisk said what was on their mind he wouldn't have known how to respond.

Staying still seemed to not change anything- Flowey just healed them! And they couldn't exactly ignore the bullets and talk to him at the same time in their soul's state... They took a breath in and out, but it failed to calm them down. Perhaps Flowey's magic was goading their soul to FIGHT, even if they held no weapon.

Their wings flicked, and they dodged through the pellets so they could speak.

"Why is it so bad that they know about you Flowey?! Even if you keep me here... They're going to eventually find me! I-" They couldn't calm down, their mind picking out another thing they didn't want to say, tears gathering in their eyes as they felt like they just slapped him, "Why can't you face them?!"

This was a disaster. They couldn't calm down after that thought. They had the same one after they killed almost everyone, and it's taken years to be able to look at any monster without some sort of guilt!

"..." he paused for a moment, some pellets summoning and hanging in the air a bit longer than they normally would, "...They'll make you leave, I'll kill them and you'll reset and then we'll wind up in an endless loop where I end up bored.... and if I'm bored I'll stop... I don't want to get bored," he frowned, and then shook his head, glaring at them, "Stop talking though! Just fight!" He attacked again, growling angrily.

Frisk dodged perfectly this time, but did not even looking the slightest bit triumphant about it, shaking with adrenaline and emotion.

"Seriously? Thats your plan?! You know what time loops do to us Flowey!" They yelled, "When you get bored of me do you really want to have nothing left?!" And they broke down in tears, closing their eyes to sense the next bullet wave instead, seeing everything in black and white unless it was colored magic, raising their head, "It's been three years since the barrier opened... isn't a new world better than an empty one...?"

=

Alphys yawned, waking up next to Undyne. She smiled over at her, face heating up a bit as she watched her sleep. She probably would wake up any second, so a quick look at her phone wouldn't hurt.

Alphys pulled out their phone, looking through the camera footage before freezing when she noticed Flowey and Frisk fighting, "o-oh no..." she muttered, gasping and putting a hand to mouth. She didn't even check if the slight gasp woke Undyne up, too horrified at what she saw to hide her phone or to pull it away.

She had set the computer and monitor screen to the open barrier before going to bed, did... was... was she responsible for this fight..?

Undyne was having a cool battle dream about fighting against her suit of armor when her wife's gasp cut into her dreams. She wondered groggily if she was having another nightmare, and an arm circled around Alphys in a comforting manner as Undyne rested her chin on Alphys's shoulder and looked at what anime she was watching on her phone.

"Mornin' Alphy. Whatcha watchin'..." She murmured groggily, and then blinked at the sight of Frisk fighting some kinda evil flower. "... Frisk got auditioned into a freggin' anime?!"

"Th- that's the footage from my lab..." Alphys muttered, her hand shaking slightly, "....... Remember when the barrier broke... h-how before that bright white light a flower grabbed everyone....?" She gulped a bit, "....Frisk... has been missing for a few d-days... I... they... they've been in the underground... I... I didn't know if I should tell anybody but.. they... they hadn't seemed like they were in any danger until... well... now..." Alphys seemed both frightened and worried.

Undyne's shocked face turned to a serious one as she propped herself onto her elbow to look more clearly at the screen. On closer inspection, Frisk was yelling, and looked like they were about to cry.

"Is there any way we can help?" Undyne asked, baring her fangs somewhat. Frisk could pretty much survive anything, but the look on their face really made her magic-blood boil. "Looks like that wimp needs backup."

"We... could go down there maybe?" Alphys asked a bit hesitantly, "And... hope we make it in time?" She looked nervous and unsure.

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" Undyne said with a grin, and whipped off the covers to get ready to go, "Time to turn that bully flower into fertilizer!"

"A-alright!" Alphys got out of the bed as well, quickly getting dressed, "We need to hurry. We don't know how long Frisk will last," she still has her phone out, unaware of what the orange soul did to the white pellets.

"Yeah!" Undyne roared as she herself got dressed, she thought the orange soul was just a trick of the camera or something, "Yeah! Taxis are too slow! I'll carry you there! NGYAAAH!" She pumped herself up.

Undyne bent down (carefully) with Alphys under one arm to hand her her phone before kicking open the door and sprinting and leaping across rooftop to rooftop like Alphys weighed less than a feather. Alphys almost dropped her phone as Undyne picked her up, "Oh-" she sounded a bit startled.

"No one makes my friend cry!" Undyne declared anyway, scaring some humans in the houses below.

=

"..." Flowey sulked a bit, before summoning more pellets to fight them.

*It seems he's starting to understand your reasoning.

"... I have my reasons for wanting to stay. I don't want to go to the surface, and you're not going to the surface either," he fired the pellets at them, turning their soul orange as... he... fired white pellets at them. His attack dealt no damage that round, only healed.

Frisk was forced to focus on the white pellets, but with their soul orange they just... walked into them. To the closest his magic allowed them to go. Not to hug or loom over Flowey, just... to talk to him, and not have to yell at him.

"And what reasons would those be...?" They asked, wiping their tears on their wrist, "Don't you think we'll destroy ourselves like this?" They were somewhat calmer after shedding tears, but still shaking.

"Why does it matter?" Flowey asked, his attacks stopping as his stalk lowered to a normal height, "You'll just try to counter every reason I give... and as for you needing to stay..?" He sighed, "I'm not telling you that either."

Flowey looked away from Frisk, a small frown and defeated expression showing on his face.  
Why was he listening to Frisk speak? Why... were their words reaching him?

There was a point in time where anyone could have told him a thing or two about being a better person. They could have made perfect sense, and he wouldn't have been phazed at all. So why... did he wind up listening to Frisk?

Why were their questions working, and making him lose the will to fight?

*Flowey is no longer attacking. He seems confused.

Frisk lowered as Flowey did, eventually sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"If you can't tell me... how are we supposed to reach a compromise? Are we just going to keep fighting until we forget what we're fighting for?" They sighed, "I want to respect your privacy, but... this situation... it needs to change somehow."

"..." Flowey closed his eyes for a moment, before looking up to Frisk with a frown, morphing his face to one of Asriel. Some tears showed at the edge of his eyes, "I was murdered up there Frisk... I... I died and turned into a flower after seeing the surface..." he shook a bit, and looked away, deciding to tell them anyways, despite just saying that he wouldn't. After all, how else would their situation change?

"...And... I'll eventually grow bored. I'll start toying with all your friends again... I can't reset, so I can't undo any of my mistakes..." he paused, waiting to see if Frisk would try to counter the things he said, his face morphing back to a Flowey like one, with a small frown. He would continue his reasons after allowing them to speak, or if they stayed silent.

=

"U-undyne wait! They stopped fighting I think!" Alphys called out to her girlfriend, holding her phone tightly so she wouldn't drop it.

"Huh?" Undyne gracefully skidded to a stop on top of the rooftop, looking to Alphys' phone, "Maybe Frisk calmed that guy down or something... You still wanna go?"

"...We... we might make things worse if we interfere right..? But... maybe we... we should wait until they seem to be done and then... make sure Frisk leaves... it... it seems like Flowey has been trying to make sure Frisk doesn't leave..." Alphys didn't realize they said Flowey's name, hinting that they knew who the flower was.

"You know that punk?" Undyne asked, blinking, "Well, more reason to pick Frisk up!" She took off again with a big grin on her face.

"I uh- I actually don't know him!" Alphys frowned, before sighing. Guess she had to tell the truth about this one, "I uh.. um... I kinda... created him..?" She smiled sheepishly, "L-like how I did with the amalgamates... he's.... REALLY unstable though a-and has tried to kill me before as... as well as the amalgamates... he um.. is the reason I well... found out amalgamates can't be killed?" Alphys worried a bit about how Undyne would respond to the last lie that she had kept hidden, "... I... I let him stay d-down in the underground and just... watched him... I well... Didn't expect.... him to trap Frisk d-down there... I mean.. he-" she gave a nervous smile, even if she wasn't looking at Undyne since she was being carried, "... he removed the rubble from the... the cave-in he caused though so... they... they aren't exactly t-trapped anymore... do... do you think I should text Frisk that we're coming...?"

Alphys remembered the events clearly. Sure she had never seen Flowey kill anyone, but she had seen him attack monsters.

She had gone down to the lab to feed the amalgamates, when she noticed the small golden flower holding the dog amalgamate down with vines and just... attacking them mercilessly. He stabbed them with his vines, shot them with his pellets but... they just seemed to absorb the attack and not be phased at all. If anything the poor thing thought Flowey was trying to play, and was rapidly wagging their tail.

That was when Flowey noticed Alphys and released his grip, dipping into the ground and appearing right in front of her, growing his stalk to meet eye to eye.

She had fallen backwards from the sudden change, as Flowey smiled down at her with beady eyes, "Why can't they die? How come I can kill everyone else but them?" The words had confused her, he had never killed anyone else, at least to her knowledge.

"What-?" She was cut off as Flowey continued.

"How come I can die but those abominations can't? Is it because I have a vessel, because I was already dead? Tell me doctor... did you even know that you doomed them to an eternity of suffering?"

"What are you- what-" Alphys had stuttered out, completely baffled and confused. How would Flowey know if he could die or not? It's not like he could come back after he died.

Flowey continued to loom over her, vines growing from the ground to pin her where she was, his face morphing to a darkly fanged grin, "Tell me. Did you know that everything you've actually made is a failure? That you've doomed all of us to a life of suffering? How does that make you feel?" She recalled him tilting his head, as if studying her, "How does it feel to know you're a failure. That 100 years from now all of your abominations will still be alive and suffering... all because you decided to try to play god!" His face morphed into a giant toothy grin, cackling darkly as pellets appeared above her head.

The rest of her memory was fuzzy about what happened, but she recalled waking up to the dog amalgamate having spit fall out of their orifices onto her face. She had woken up with 1HP... and the only thing she could tell was that Flowey had almost killed her.

Thankfully some Ramen was enough to bring her back to decent shape. But ever since then she had become terrified of Flowey, and decided it best to try and not let too many people know about him. Just... another lie she had to keep.

“So... he’s like a secret amalgamate? Who’s souls were his?” Undyne asked, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave that jerk with Frisk if he hurt you!” She added fiercely.

"Well... the... thing is I don't think I should say who he used to be.... he... he threatened to kill me if I said anything.. a-and I think he means it..." Alphys gulped.

"You don't have to tell me! Rrrr, that guy is bad news...!" Undyne hopped down from the last rooftop and onto a forest trail that lead to Mount Ebott.

=

Frisk nodded, seeming deep in thought. They were still shaking themselves, but their soul flickered out of sight. The wings remained, however.

"So you don't want to go to the surface because of bad memories... and you don't want to get bored enough to start hurting other people." They reiterated, trying to understand before they came up with anything. It would do them both no good if there was a miscommunication…

Flowey nodded, "And because I don't deserve a happy ending... I've... done a lot of strange things. I mean, look at what I've done to you! I killed you just because I felt like it, and I attacked you just for fun! The closest happy ending I deserve is knowing that everyone else has a happy ending."

Flowey sighed, "And... I... I don't want you to leave because I know that I'll follow... I don't want to go to the surface so I have to make sure you never leave. Even if it means keeping us in a continuous loop that never ends."

 _Why am I telling Frisk all of this?_ he asked himself, and yet no answer came to mind.

He didn't care about Frisk, if he did then he would just leave with them, he would follow them out of the underground and give them as many chances as they asked for. But the reality of the situation is... is that he still felt nothing. He still didn't care about Frisk. Perhaps, it was the fact that Frisk was the friend he always wanted? That they showed him kindness despite everything else, that he knew he could somewhat trust them?

He... he still figured they'd counter all his reasons to stay. Shoot, they'd probably become ecstatic when they found out that he would follow them out if they ever left.

"You think you don't deserve a happy ending... and I can't leave without you coming along." Frisk reiterated again. They did not feel happy about the last point. They had practically forced Flowey to feel that way by visiting him so infrequently, haven't they? It was... like a hollow victory. 

Frisk mulled over the information bit by bit. Bad memories, boredom, not feeling deserving, and them leaving. They couldn't do much about the last one. They thought they could stay here for at least a couple months at least, but that thought was... probably naive. Even if Toriel wasn't worried about them, they needed Alphys' and probably a lot of their other friend's help directly with Flowey. Their friends would eventually find out, and then Flowey would force them both into a time loop. So, likely... there was only one option left.

"What time of day did you first go to the surface?" They both could avoid triggering that memory, at least.

"I don't know... I just know that the sky looked orange with a mix of red," Flowey sighed, seeming to either describe a sunset or sunrise. Since people were awake and saw him, it was likely that it was a sunrise though, "Why does that even matter though? I'm not going to the surface, and neither are you," Flowey huffed out the last bit. He honestly was surprised that Frisk wasn't trying to counter anything he said. There was no you deserve it just like anyone else, or the surface is a lot better now you'll love it!, or even I'll help make sure you don't become bored enough to toy with anyone.

Frisk... hadn't tried to argue about any of his points. It surprised him, that's for sure. And... he was a bit relieved about it in all honesty. Trying to argue reasons he didn't plan on changing wouldn't get them anywhere, and would have just angered him if nothing else.  
"But... knowing why I want to stay here, what will you do? Are you going to try and leave and make us fight again, or are you going to stay down here and make sure none of your friends visit?"

Frisk shook their head. “I’m going through your reasons one by one. Thinking it through...” They explained.

“If you don’t want to ruin everyone’s happy ending, I can stop and reason with you if you lose yourself. I will protect you from those who want to do you harm, too. Just stay near me. You have the willpower to do that.” They said, unconsciously leaning a bit closer, looking at him closely for his reaction, “And it won’t be forever. Eventually... I’ll find a way to completely save you with my friends’ help. And then you can go wherever you want.”

It was also foolish to think they could just take Flowey out of the Underground and then just set him free, it seemed.

“Please come with me to the surface, Flowey.” They said, just in case they weren’t clear.

And there it was, Frisk offering solutions to the reasons why he didn't want to go to the surface... he frowned, showing he was a bit displeased at what they suggested.  
‘and it won't be forever’ Frisk continued, causing him to sigh and look away. He allowed Frisk to finish, and slowly started to grin as Frisk made it blunt that they wanted him to come to the surface.

Why were they so determined to bring him to the surface? Didn't they know how much of a threat he was? Flowey would do what he wanted to do, regardless if Frisk tried to keep an eye on him. Frisk wasn't the one in control here. He was. Even if he couldn't reset.

"... If... if I follow you out, can I at least hold your hand?" He grew a vine and offered it to Frisk, trying to grab ahold of their hand, "I'll need support after all..." he turned to smile sheepishly at them, hoping they bought into his act.

Of course he didn't plan on leaving. That was the last thing he planned on doing. If he could just get a good grasp on Frisk…

Frisk watched Flowey turn away and seem to gather himself before asking to hold their hand. They started to reach out... and then drew back their hand.

Frisk have been happy to comfort their friend through something as difficult for him as this... if it wasn't for the fact that the last time they tried to hold his vine he nearly threw them into the magma and drank their blood. Without any permission, too! Even the edible monsters had to give permission for people to eat them!

"No." They huffed, crossing their arms, "Maybe in a few days..." That would calm down their battle memory a little. "Are you really okay with this?"

"..." Flowey frowned, and then gave them a fake look of being hurt, "... Do you not trust me Frisk?" He was pulling the guilt card now, "I... I don't mind leaving today if I have some support... Who knows. I might change my mind by tomorrow, and not let you leave again... please trust me on this Frisk. You can even carry me if you want."

His vine flinched backwards when they retreated their hand, as if trying to show they were no threat.

Frisk felt annoyed at their own memory, they really did want to comfort Flowey! But as they looked at Flowey's vine, their hands gave sharp tremors of phantom pain, and they curled into themselves a bit.

"I don't want to hold your vine yet, but... You can hold onto my coat." They untied their coat from their waist and swung it so that he could grab onto it, "I don't know if your body gets phantom pains but I do. It kinda sucks."

Flowey nodded, and then grabbed onto their coat, before trying to move and slowly grab ahold of their waist instead, "Pain doesn't mean much to me. I sometimes don't even notice it," he commented. He wondered what Frisk's reaction would be to him trying to wrap his vine around their waist instead of their jacket, "Besides... if you can't trust me to hold onto you, then why should I be able to trust you?"  
Yes, reel in the guilt tripping and manipulation. Frisk had every right to not trust him, but that wouldn't stop him from questioning them about it.

=

"Y-yeah..." Alphys gulped, "He may be a tiny flower but... he's really strong so... be careful if he attacks..."

"I can take him!" Undyne said confidently as she ran and jumped up the mountain path, "They're still in your lab, right?"

"Let me see!" She glanced at her phone and nodded, "y-yeah they're still there. They aren't fighting anymore at least."

"Alright!" Undyne ran straight through the cleared entrance, she definitely knew her way to Alphys' lab! "Oh, you wanna wait at the exit or come watch me kick that Flowery guy's butt?" She skidded to a walk in the cave.

"I... I think I'd rather be with you," Alphys blushed a bit, "A-and if it comes down to it I can help you fight...?"

"Of course! No one can beat us when we're together!" Undyne cheered, happy that Alphys decided to come with. Or, be carried with. She tapped one of the elevator door's buttons to go into Hotland.

=

As Flowey grabbed onto their coat, they stood up, holding the other end, "I see..." They seemed confused for a moment, but quickly shied away from the vine slowly trying to go around their waist, looking a little annoyed, "Because you've tricked me many times, Flowey! Please let me recover from that time before."

Sure, they had that (mostly) harmless hug match before, but after Flowey got mad at them and tricked them into being grabbed he really had... completely lost their trust touch-wise, they realized sadly. At least temporarily.

"... Would it help if you closed your eyes for a moment? You can't recover from something unless you're exposed to it. Haven't you ever learned about how people get over phobias?" He tilted his head and frowned, "I promise I won't hurt you... just... close your eyes for a moment, okay? I won't hurt you, I promise," he gave them a gentle smile, his face morphing into Asriel's, "We're friends... right?"

We're friends... right? Frisk gave Flowey a long, long gaze. This wasn't like a puzzle, a clever trick in a fight. If he betrayed them now after saying that... right after trying to reach a compromise... would they ever be able to forgive him? Would they ever be able to talk to him, play with him again? Could they really handle being his guardian if he probed this deeply and tore them apart? To trust him... at all? All at once, longing and fear and indecision crashed onto them as tears fell from their eyes and they shook.

"I... don't think I should..." They didn't want to be betrayed like that, "Are you really okay with leaving...?" Maybe if he said yes once more, they'd let him hold their hand.

Flowey gave a fake look of concern as Frisk cried. He couldn't give two shits if this destroyed their trust forever. Wow, did he really scare them that much? Well... then again he did trap them down here.

And what's the worst case scenario? They realize he's unsalvageable and stop trying? That wouldn't be so bad.

"If I can either hold onto you as I leave, or have you carry me.... but... we can sit down for a few minutes for you to calm down if you want," he continued to hold his Asriel face, his voice of Asriel's as well at the moment.

This was pure deception and manipulation, and the worst part about it, was that he didn't care one bit.

"No... no..." Frisk wiped at their tears. They were having a conversation with themselves in their head.

_Come on, Frisk. Calm down. What's the worse he could do to betray you? Kill you? And then you'll come back, and find out why._

_There are worse things than being killed..._

_You're strong enough to fight back, aren't you?_

"... No, let's go now. I can carry you... It'll be faster." Frisk held out their hands to Flowey, their magic wings opening up behind them. They had to be strong. If this was a betrayal... then... they knew what they had to do.

Flowey carefully grabbed their hand, not doing anything at the moment, "See? I'm not going to do anything..." he uprooted himself, and carefully, moved slowly up their arm, his vines wrapping around Frisk's arm as he did so, "This isn't so bad right?" His face turned to a normal default smile. Flowey was tempted to start his plan right as he grabbed Frisk's hand, but he figured a better grip around multiple limbs would be easier. Besides, destroying their trust as soon as they relaxed would be more satisfying.  
"See, I'm not hurting you. You can trust me right?"

=

Alphys nodded, and looked at her phone, "uh- Frisk is picking Flowey up... I... I don't think he's a threat right now at- at least..."

Alphys decided to text Frisk in that moment.  
Hey Frisk. Um... me and Undyne are coming to pick you up. We're almost there.

Undyne sneaked a peek at Alphys's phone. "It'd be just like Frisk to pick up and hug their attacker." Undyne said, rolling her eye as she waited inside the elevator to finally get to the first floor.

Alphys nodded, and looked at her phone again, eyes widening in horror, "Yea- that's just like Frisk but..." she showed Undyne her phone to show just exactly what was happening now.

Undyne's eye widened. She became more and more on guard, cyan magic sparkling in her free hand before she crushed it in her fist. As soon as the elevator doors opened, she stalked towards the lab, only breaking into a run when she heard something awful.

"Oh god Frisk-" Alphys sounded extremely worried, "th-this is my fault... if... if I had told someone sooner..." she covered her face with her hands and shook slightly.

=

With their phone silenced, the vibration turned off, and their full focus on Flowey, Frisk did not notice they had received a new text. In fact, they had forgotten about their phone entirely.

"Mrmmm..." Frisk grumbled, and did their best not to flinch away, warning jolts of nerve pain going through everywhere Flowey touched. They were becoming too calm for this; they were going to be able to feel it if Flowey decided to hurt them this time. "As long as you don't throw me into the magma again..." They chuckled weakly, and stepped forward and tried to help gather Flowey in their arms.

…

As soon as Flowey had a good connection to their arms was when he enacted his plan.

And that's when he instantly tightening the grip to cut off blood flow, some thorns sprouting from the vine to stab into their arms go get an even better grip on them.

"You idiot!" he chuckled darkly, "Look. I get it. You still want to save me, and you want to do it on the surface. But... here's what you don't get," he paused, and then his face morphed into one with a darkly fanged smile as he stared right at them as if staring through their soul, "I don't care what you want. When did you think you had any choice about what happens here?" He chuckled a bit more as he tried to intertwine his vines more around their arms, "Ya know... maybe I should break your arms and legs! That way you never can get away!" Seems they were lying about not harming Frisk, "And don't even try to resist! Because you're my toy Frisk. That's all you'll ever be!"

Frisk did something that they rarely did, even when bones tore them apart again and again, even when they were being blasted apart by rainbow light, they barely uttered a sound- but right now, their face contorted in pain and they could only get hold it to near the end of Flowey's words, and they screamed, their entire body seizing up in agony.

Their wings raised and spread, lifting their feet off the ground, lifting FLowey right up with them. They weren't thinking, all they knew right now was pain as it flooded their senses- somehow even while they thought Flowey might betray them they had still let their guard down. Their soul didn't numb the pain this time, as if their determination was laughing at and punishing them for their naivety.

Flowey was squeezing his hardest on their arms, trying to break them as Frisk lifted them both into the air.

Sadistically, he would fire unavoidable healing magic bullets at their soul randomly to ensure they kept the injuries, but stayed alive even if their HP dropped.

"Hehe... I've never heard you scream before! This is so fun!! Hahahaa!" His expression twisted to one of joy as he kept tightening his vines. He wanted to hear their bones snap, he wanted to hear their cries die out, he wanted to hear them give up. To stop fighting back and resisting.  
He moved his face to be inches from their face, "I can't believe you trusted me! After everything I've done!! How much of an idiot are you!?"

Frisk couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, they could feel and almost hear their bones creaking under the strain. They squeezed their eyes shut, terrified, agonized, hating every healing bullet that kept healing their soul. They couldn't switch off this sort of pain, not now. They started struggling, curling around and clinging instinctively to Flowey in the air, their forehead touching his face-no, nononono, their arms-!

Flowey didn't move back. He allowed their forehead to press against his own, "Don't worry. The sooner you stop strugglingz the sooner this will be all o-"

BAM!

Undyne kicked down the door, a magic spear already in her hand before the dirt cleared.

"YOU LET GO OF FRISK THIS INSTANT YOU FLOWERY THING!" She roared, setting Alphys on her feet before raising her spear in a battle stance.

Flowey continued to slowly and agonizingly tighten the vines around Frisk's arms, moving his head to see and hear Undyne's threat.

"Oh... so you called for help did you?" Flowey asked, his eyes lighting with fire, "Hehe... a reset will have to happen then. Didn't I already tell you I'd kill anyone that came to save you Frisk?"  
He then focused his attention on Undyne, not releasing his grip on his toy, "Or what? You'll kill me? Despite what I'm doing now, Frisk wouldn't like that."

He grinned more, "Hmmm it has been a while since I killed you... I wonder if I still know how?"

Determination was flowing through Flowey at this point. Someone was dying by the end of the day, whether it was himself, Undyne, or Alphys.

Either result would be what he was after. Something to make Frisk reset.

Alphys gulped a bit, before summoning a "uwu" magic shaped bullet, "I-I'm going to help to Undyne..." she muttered out.

"Yeah! I'll definitely kill you! No one hurts my friends and gets away with it!" Undyne growled, swinging her spear for emphasis.

Flowey chuckled at the sound of Frisk's arms breaking... staring right at Undyne as he summoned green pellets to heal Frisk.

He didn't even respond to Undyne, instead moving his face near Frisk's ear, speaking loudly for even Undyne to hear, _"How does it feel to have broken arms Frisk?"_

"I... didn't... call them... Undyne..." Frisk managed, before their arms finally snapped and another scream ripped from their throat, the bones grinding on one another. Their arms went limp. Tears dripped down their chin, they were shaking like a leaf.

They knew this battle was going to make them reset. Unless they somehow got free... unless they somehow escaped with Undyne and Alphys with two broken arms...

"You little...!" Undyne summoned more spears around herself, but how could she hit Flowey without hitting Frisk? "Frisk, get lower to the ground so I can peel this asshole off!"

"See Frisk, this is why I can't be saved. Do you understand now!?"

Frisk's wings folded and they dropped, only spreading out and slowing down again when they blearily realized they could hurt Flowey with the fall. His vines started to move from their arms to their back, trying to stay connected as he lowered towards their legs. He didn't even stop moving as Frisk fell, still intent on breaking their legs it seemed.

Although his longest vine stayed near the top of Frisk's shoulders.

"Undyne I'd like to see you even try to tear me off," he taunted, "Because if you even take a step closer..." a vine wrapped threateningly around Frisk's throat, the thorns poking it ever so slightly to cause it to bleed.

Somewhere, somehow, Frisk had thought Flowey wouldn't resort to this. It had been so peaceful before, he had made himself fun to be around in a twisted manner, that maybe they thought that Flowey could be a good person if he really tried. They tried to reason with him, he seemed so reasonable before. What did they do wrong...? Did he really hate showing weakness this much to torture them in front of their friends? Would they even still save him?

Through the cacophony of agony and Flowey's mocking words they smiled somewhat, more of a grimace as vines wrapped around their legs and around their neck. Yes... yes they would. Flowey obviously didn't want to be helped, but they would help him one way or another. They loved him unconditionally.

Undyne stopped in her tracks. "You bastard..." She hissed, clutching her spear. Frisk was too fragile for her to throw her spears at...! She pretended to stay still, her magic spears dropping into the ground... maybe she could catch them by surprise-!

Of course Flowey would resort to killing their friends, he had threatened it time and time again. He even got the idea of breaking Frisk's arms and legs from the anime they watched, and told them so long as they weren't trying to leave he didn't have to do it.

But now? Now Flowey was both terrified of loosing Frisk, of them getting away, and thrilled by the outcome. He was having fun torturing Frisk in a twisted way.

The open door behind Alphys and Undyne called to Frisk. Their wings still could move them. Both of them. _Maybe,_ they thought in a blur, their pain-addled but determined mind focusing on a single dream, _Maybe I could…_ Flowey would never forgive them for it. But what other choice did they have? Their blurry vision and Undyne and Alphys's forms focused with a blink as they raised their head and looked back at them. They weren't about to let Flowey have the pleasure of torturing their friends. They mouthed one word, a warning more than anything.

'Move'

Undyne quickly jumped to pull Alphys out of the way, and Frisk's wings sent them rocketing through the door and out of the lab.

Alphys didn't move in time as Undyne tackled them, "Oh-!" Alphys grunted, rubbing her head a bit before blinking and watching Frisk fly off, "W-we need to follow them!"

Flowey didn't notice them smile, still threateningly staring at Undyne, watching her spears drop to the ground. Was she planning on using an orange spear to get him from behind? He watched her carefully... before blinking in surprise as Undyne tackled Alphys to the side, as Frisk flew out the open doors, "Wait... what are you!?" Flowey asked in confusion, his vines tightening even more on Frisk's legs from the sudden unexpected motion.

"You okay?" Undyne asked quickly, but then nodded at Alphys' suggestion, "Right!" She picked Alphys up and ran after Frisk.

Frisk's legs were harder to break than their arms. They could feel them creaking in Flowey's grip as they flew up the side of the elevator shaft to the ceiling. They could only hope their wings wouldn't run out of magic, that they could focus enough to not crash into anything. They curled around Flowey, as if trying to hold onto him. Their broken arms were like a ragdoll in his grip.

"Frisk what are you planning with this!? If you're going to reset then do so already!" Flowey growled out, not particularly enjoying the tight hold on him. Were they really in so much pain that they were clinging to him for comfort?

Below them, Undyne had forgone the elevator entirely to pierce the sides with her spears and leap off of them after Frisk with Alphys in tow.

"Br-eak open the elevator doors!" Frisk shouted to them, voice ragged, not wasting a single opportunity.

He grew thorns from his vines across Frisk's legs, stabbing into them harshly. He was no longer sending healing magic their way as well. The vine along Frisk's neck tightened when they called to Alphys and Undyne. Not enough to snap their neck, but enough to cut off their air for a moment, "don't talk, unless you're saying something to me!" Flowey demanded, holding the tight grip for a moment before letting go, the vine lazily laying around Frisk's throat still.

Alphys heard what Frisk said, pulling out her phone as Undyne did her thing.

With a few clicks of her phone every elevator door in the entire underground opened up.

Frisk saw the open elevator shaft-now missing the compartment since the elevator was on the first floor. They flew up into the shaft, coming out into New Home, flying above the buildings, straight towards the castle.

Undyne followed their path, using her spears to fling herself and Alphys into New Home. This all would be almost amazing if it weren't for the fact that blood flew off of Frisk in an odd red spray. Humans... shouldn't be bleeding that heavily, right?!

"Frisk!" Undyne called, worried, barely able to keep up with them. Frisk didn't answer.

Flowey was confused. Why didn't Frisk go to the lava, why were they... headed.. Towards…

"Are you scared...?" Frisk whispered to Flowey, curling into the thorns as if they were trying to hug him for his own comfort, "You should close your eyes... and trust me..."

Perhaps they were experiencing something similar to anger. Maybe revenge. But somehow it was filled with a hazy sort of love that made them focus through the pain and the thorns that were slowly sinking deep into them. Determination overrode everything, HOPE slowing down the damage to their soul as they devoted everything to this one, silly DREAM.

They were just barely able to flip around to kick down the door to Asgore's house, which caused both their legs to break, and just barely missed the railing to circle down the stairs, slowing down to bump into the walls like a lethargic bumblebee and let out a sob before they continued onwards.

"You.. you're..." his eyes widened, a terrified expression forming on his face as the vine around Frisk's throat wrapped harshly around it, trying now to snap their neck, "I AM NOT GOING TO THE SURFACE!" Flowey's words rang with both anger and pure terror.

He didn't let go of Frisk though. In his mind, Frisk was heading to the surface so that he would let them go, so they could get away. He wouldn't play into their plan.

Even if he unknowingly was.

As they went down the stairs, his whole being started to shake, including the vines that clung to Frisk.

Frisk gasped what would probably be their last breath, but they kept going, even as they struggled to breathe, their body broken, but their half-conscious eyes glowing red as their HOPES ignited, and flew faster. And now they could feel their neck bones straining, something almost breaking- but their soul was glowing, DETERMINATION forcing them to just barely hold on to HP in the decimal points. When they passed through the throne room it was a clear shot right through the cleared cave to the Surface.

Even if it was for a moment, they so, so selfishly wanted to show him the world beyond a simple screen.

It was around late morning. The sun was high in the sky. Frisk uncurled from Flowey, rising higher and higher into the sky. Blood fell from his thorns and broken limbs, fell from their slightly parted lips. He was tearing them apart, but their body had accepted death at this point, simply a puppet to their Determination.

 _I wonder what this world looks like to you from the sky._ They thought as their senses slowly started to ebb and fade.

Flowey's breath caught in his non-existent throat as Frisk flew into the sky, his vines actually slightly loosening on them. It was enough to allow Frisk to be able to breath again at the very least, but it wasn't enough to stop the blood that was leaking from their body.

"... you... I... I told you I didn't..." Flowey's eyes watered, "Why...? Why would you show me something I'll never see again? Why... are you torturing me with this sight...?" he leaned against Frisk... before deciding to selflessly summon green healing pellets and shoot Frisk with them. He didn't know why he was healing them in this moment.

Perhaps he wanted to hear their answer, perhaps he didn't want Frisk to die... he... wasn't entirely sure.

...

...

...

No, he knew why, he couldn't lie to himself. He was curious about what would happen if this timeline continued. If Undyne would still kill him if Frisk lived.

Besides. The sight he saw was beautiful, and didn't remind him of the time he died like he feared it would. It was so bright. In fact, it made even hotlands seem dim.

Just as Frisk was convinced that they would wake up in front of Mettaton's hotel, healing magic flushed through them, forcing them back into life with a gasping breath and coughing out some leftover blood into the air. They were still rising up higher and higher, high enough to be over the tip of the mountain, among the clouds. They took in this sight for a moment, not looking to Flowey. They could guess his expression.

"It's midday... it isn't sunset or sunrise..." Frisk said simply, "I wanted to show you... since you're a flower maybe you'd enjoy it... maybe I'll show you the stars one day..." They were convinced this moment of peace wouldn't last, but they meant every word. They reached down weakly with their fractured arm to touch the top of a cloud.  
Flowey frowned. He didn't have to be a flower to enjoy what the underground didn't provide. Simply being locked away for so long underground allowed even a sight like this to be breathtaking.

The vine that once was around Frisk's throat moved to touch some of the clouds as well, "...This white thing.. it's a cloud right? Why can my vine go through it, why isn't it solid?" Flowey recalled some animes where the characters would be able to walk on clouds. But these? No one could walk through these without falling to their death.

Flowey had never touched a cloud before, and he never had really learned about them.  
It was odd, touching the cloud almost felt like his vine had mist sprayed over them.

He decided to throw a few more healing pellets their way. He wasn't sure how low Frisk's HP was, but he figured their blood loss wasn't helping.

... speaking of blood loss his roots were soaking up any blood that landed on them. Flowey kinda had no control over that.

"Yeah... It's part of the water cycle. Water rises up from lakes and stuff and gathers in these clouds. When enough of them gather and the conditions are right, it makes rain." Frisk floated on their back among the clouds, looking out at the slightly curved horizon. They had been on a plane once, but like this it felt different, more free, definitely more dangerous since their wings were unknown and could give out any time. They were glad they could at least see this, even if they were still in pain. The blood streaming down from them slowed to slow droplets in response to the healing magic.

"Huh. How strange..." he didn't care if their wings would give out or not, but he did kinda want to go to the ground, "...Think you can try to get us to the ground though...? So... we can both go back underground?" Welp, seems after all this, he still wants him and Frisk to go underground.

Alphys clung to Undyne as they raced to the exit, "I hope Frisk is okay..." she muttered out, "If they die... then... then... it'll be..." Alphys was about to blame themselves.

"I'll go back down..." Frisk agreed, letting themselves fall and then slow down in short spurts.

"They'll be okay... Frisk can't die from a punk like that...!" Undyne hissed, emerging out from the entrance, "FRISK!" She called, looking around. Something like a bird caught her eye- Frisk was lowering themselves down from the sky, their flight starting to look a bit unstable as they shook from side to side.

Frisk was beginning to feel very drained. They had devoted everything to get Flowey out here. They never thought that they'd get further than that. And once their feet touched the ground, they finally seemed to notice Undyne and Alphys. Undyne had her spear in her hand, glaring at Flowey and looking confused to Frisk.

"Hey guys... what's... oh no..." Frisk trailed off, stumbled a few steps, and fainted on the spot.

Flowey didn't release Frisk, and instead glared at Undyne, summoning pellets defensively in front of himself, "They aren't dead... but if you make any move to attack..." a vine curled around Frisk's throat again, however this time there were no thorns poking into them, "... Leave. You two need to leave and act like you never saw us," he shot a glare to Undyne. He knew his threat would work with Alphys but... he highly doubted it would with Undyne. If anything it would encourage a fight.

"Act like we never saw you...? Are you kidding me?! What are you doing with Frisk, you creep?!" Undyne demanded, her hands trembling with rage, but she made no move to attack. Was she supposed to just watch this flowery guy take away her dear friend to who-knows where?!

Frisk didn't respond, completely and utterly knocked out. They were still breathing, however.

Flowey thought his options over at the moment. He could try to fight Alphys and Undyne. He could kill them even without a sweat.

But... he would be fighting while on the surface, and he didn't want to be here longer than he had to, even if he enjoyed it a bit.

He glanced to the underground exit.... he... would regret what he was about to do, "Okay how about this. I'll go back underground... I want you to destroy the exit when I do. It might make the rest of the underground collapse, the exit is a bit unstable...." he paused, frowning slightly, "And make sure Frisk doesn't ever come back here. Just... make sure it's impossible for me to leave... and impossible for Frisk to return," he released Frisk, shivering as he touched the soil that was warmed from the soil, "even if it kills me."

Alphys was a bit confused at what Flowey just said, before looking at Undyne to see what they were going to do/say.

"So destroy the entrance so you don't come back? Fine by me!" Undyne grinned viciously, but she'd stay where she was until Flowey was far enough away from Frisk to walk between them protectively. If Flowey changed his mind he would have to face her spears!

What they were doing down there, why Frisk seemed so reluctant to hurt him, it didn't matter! Undyne was going to bring Frisk home... Toriel must be worried sick!

Flowey nodded, and then dipped into the ground, reappearing at the entrance, before going back underground and popping further inside, "And another thing. Lie to Frisk and tell them I ran off. Don't tell them I'm down here..."

Flowey knew a cave-in wouldn't hold him into the underground. He could always burrow under it. The thing was... if anymore of the entrance fell then he was certain that it wouldn't be the only bit to cave in. All of New Home would.

Maybe hotlands and further on would survive, but not new home. A good chunk would collapse.  
If Frisk reset, he would know exactly where it was safe or not safe to have Frisk stay when he make the exit collapse again.

And if Frisk never reset? If they honestly believed that he was living on the surface?

... well, he would be okay with that to.

"Alright, destroy this place whenever you're ready," he ducked into the soil once more, vanishing from sight.

He reappeared in Asgore's house, opening the fridge and taking the butterscotch out to eat it.  
It was really sweet.

…

Oh yeah, he had one of Frisk's last dreams in the soil under Alphy's lab. He probably should get that just in case.

Alphys frowned, going over and putting a hand on Undyne's, "I... I think he's planning something. A cave-in won't prevent him from leaving... he can burrow through the soil. It would only stop people from entering..."

"So he's planning something, huh?" Undyne grumbled, her animosity lowered by Flowey leaving and Alphys holding her hand. Did she really want to block off the entrance of this place? It was her prison, but also her birthplace- the same case for almost every single monster still alive. She had made so many memories here, and she would want to return to relive them...

"That's fine! I don't want nor anyone going near that flower!" Undyne eyed the ceiling for weak points, "I'll dig through the rubble myself if I want to visit!"

"A-alright..." Alphys frowned, and then went over to Frisk, deciding to send more healing magic their way.

The cave mouth seemed unstable. In face it looked like even Alphys could make it fall in if she punched the top of it her hardest.

Undyne summoned spears and had them strike the cracks at the top of the entrance. A rock fell. Another rock fell. And, as if suddenly the cave has barely-balancing towers of rocks, they all began to fall at once, rumbling-but not quieting, in fact getting louder. Undyne raised her spears to shield Frisk and Alphys from the dust and debris in a spinning cyan shield, frowning somewhat as the cave-in seemed to rumble deeper and louder.

Frisk was at full HP, their bleeding wounds healed, but they were still knocked out. It was a similar sleep to after the barrier was broken. Their soul desperately needed to recover after holding onto HP in the decimal points.

"I... don't think that was a good idea...!" Undyne admitted, sweating somewhat from nervousness. Did... did that just cause the entire New Home to cave-in?! The ground trembled beneath their feet. "We gotta goooo-!" She scooped up Frisk and Alphys to flee the mountain.

"I- I said he was planning something!" Alphys explained in a bit of a panic. She pulled out her phone, but the dust made it nearly impossible to see anything.

Flowey meanwhile was in hotlands, staying still and holding onto the last dream he took from Frisk.

He sighed, closing his eyes and pulling it close. It felt warm.

... why was it even called a last dream though? All it did was heal you. It wasn't like it contained an actual tangible dream right..? He could hear the rumbling in new home, but he didn't care. 

He... he wanted this right?

From the very beginning he wanted to be forgotten, he- why was he crying...?

He paused, bringing a separate vine to his eyes to wipe away the stray tear. Staring at it for a moment in confusion before he realized it wasn't the only one.

Why was he crying? Did he really regret letting Frisk leave that badly?

Or was it... that he regretted what he did in this moment?

…

It didn't matter. He was all by himself now. He, should probably destroy the camera in here. He didn't want Alphys to keep spying on him.

He fired some pellets at the camera, watching as it was destroyed, as his reflection that came off of the device showed that he had tears streaming down his face.

He closed his eyes, no one could watch him cry now, even if he still couldn't understand why he was crying... because…

He felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Geez..." Undyne sighed, so much for keeping a lost empty city alive. A lot of the monsters actually hated the Underground after being on the surface, so she wasn't too worried about anyone being in the Underground, but like... it was kind of a bummer.

"Frisk's still knocked out, so I'm gonna put em' down to take their nap at our house. Maybe then they'll have some answers..." She decided. She hoped it was a nap, at least. If Frisk was comatose she'd go back down there and hunt that cocky flower down herself.

"That sounds like a good idea..." Alphys frowned, "... Frisk went through a lot..." she sounded a bit worried, "Did... did you see how he kept healing them? He... he was trying to keep them alive so he could torture them... at... at least I didn't see anything else happen to Frisk down there that was bad..." Alphys looked at her phone and frowned, "My cameras in new home and hotlands are both destroyed... there... there are still cameras in the c-core so I think Flowey may have destroyed the one in my lab..."

"Yeah... I did...!" Undyne growled, her anger directed at Flowey, "We should hunt him down and kill him!" She paused, "Probably destroyed the cameras so we couldn't watch his evil plans...!"

Flowey shook slightly as he heard the rubble come closer and closer... and then stop.  
Was... hotlands spared from the damage? That was a relief. He moved to go inspect where it had stopped, before his eyes widened upon realization that the cave-in looked like it would continue after a pause. A single rock was slowly sliding down a wall. As soon as it finished its' slide downwards…

Oh! The computer, it still had access to the undernet!

He raced back to hotlands, and then accessed the computer, before sending a quick message that only Alphys would receive.

[Stay far away from Mt Ebott. The core might blow up soon]

There. That's all that needed to be sent. He sighed, before heading off to the ruins. He wasn't about to wait around to be killed after all.

Alphys paused, receiving the msg after a bit, "uh- um Undyne... we... we might need to... evacuate the entire town...." she gulped a bit.

She reached the town's edge and jumped onto a rooftop, ignoring the confused and bewildered looks from the humans outside below.

"We what?" Undyne asked, looking to Alphys, and then to her phone. Her eye widened, "Oh. Shit. I really fucked up. Can you call Asgore? We can explain to him together. He should know what to do."

"Y-yeah... unless he's lying but.. that... was a pretty big cave-in. And... and if the core blows up it may turn mt ebott into an active volcano.. especially with how the lava is used to power the core..." she looked a bit confused, "But... but why would he warn us...? He must know that means he will die down there right...?"

Alphys shook her head, before pulling out her phone, "It... it doesn't matter. I'll call Asgore..."  
She then called Asgore, hoping he picked up.

Dressed in a hawaiian shirt and jeans, Asgore was simply going about his gardening duties at the school, examining the branches of a new tree in the garden to make sure the growth was healthy. brrring brrrring. His phone rang, and he took his phone gently in his paw to answer it.

"Howdy Alphys. How are you today?" He asked, relaxed. He did feel the ground rumbling a bit, but he thought it was from one of those very large trucks that past by earlier.

"Mt Ebott is about to explode!" Undyne cut right to the chase, "We need to evacuate the town as fast as we can!" She wouldn't have believed that flower jerk if it wasn't for the fact that the cave-in seemed to go deeper inside to destroy New Home.

"Take a deep breath and tell me what happened. Do you have proof of this?" Asgore asked in the same calm, but more serious tone, the clippers he had raised up lowering to his side.

"Proof? Well, uh... I might have cause a cave-in that triggered a huge cave-in at New Home?!" Undyne admitted, her cheeks flushing in shame.

Alphys decided to cut in as well, "A-and someone inside the underground sent me a message that said the core looked like it was about to blow up!" She paused, realizing just exactly how that sounded, "He um... well he tortured Frisk, and Undyne trapped him underground so that Frisk was safe and it all went downhill- Frisk is okay though for now!" She gulped. Gosh, she probably made things sound worse... no, they were pretty bad. There was no making this sound 'worse' than it really was.

"Frisk? They're okay? Thank heavens..." Asgore had full faith in Alphys' words. Those other details right now... he'd process them later. Right now both humans and monsters had a crisis. "I will warn the mayor. Is Frisk available? I may need their help with this as well."

"Nope, they're knocked out!" Undyne reported.

"Please have them call me as soon as they wake up." Asgore said. He felt bad that he'd ask Frisk to work with him after going through an unimaginable experience but... Frisk was human, and one of the monsters' ambassadors. Humans seemed to listen more to other humans. "And send me evidence of any signs of Mt. Ebott erupting if you can. Papyrus and I will negotiate with the humans in the meantime."

"Sure thing!" Undyne agreed, spotting hers and Alphys's house/new lab and landing at the front doors. She set Alphys down and looked to Frisk, worried about them, but walked inside to quickly but gently set them down on the nearest couch.

"B-best of luck mr. Dreemurr!" Alphys said with a gulp, and then hung up the phone. She followed Undyne inside the house, "... I hope Frisk is okay... they... they must be traumatized..." she then froze, "Um- sh-should we call Toriel...? Or... or wait?"

She paused once more, a gentle rumble being felt throughout the town. If you looked outside the window, a wave of smoke could be seen spewing out of Mt Ebott. Some red sparks seemingly flying out as well.

"I was thinking- you could take care of Frisk, and I could go back to take pictures-" A rumble like thunder made Undyne pause, and she looked out the blinds of the window. She quickly yanked them up in shock so Alphys could see. Mt. Ebott starting to smoke.

A low but urgent whooping signal began to resound through the entire town, as the humans sent a message to every single cellular device: VOLCANIC ERUPTION ALERT LEVEL 3: SMALL VOLCANIC ERUPTION. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION

Asgore shook his head at his phone. That wasn't enough...! It was definitely going to be more serious than that with the amount of power the CORE had! He called Papyrus and the Mayor in a conference call, going inside to a garden shed so he could be understood better.

Perhaps the humans would have ignored them if it wasn't for the fact that the mountain was smoking.

VOLCANIC ERUPTION ALERT LEVEL 5: PLEASE GATHER YOUR POSSESSIONS AND EVACUATE THE AREA IN AN ORDERLY AND TIMELY MANNER.

The humans and monsters nearby in houses started shouting and talking loudly, trying to get everyone up and awake and moving. While lava might travel slowly, the ash fall was definitely more dangerous.

Frisk opened their eyes to the sound of sirens.

Alphys gasped, "Oh no- this... this isn't good..." she didn't notice Frisk wake up, "I... I hope Frisk wakes up soon..."

Toriel was terrified, and then instantly pulled out her phone and called Frisk. She hoped Frisk was okay, that they would answer. She... she had to let Frisk know what was going on.

The call went to a silenced phone, and then cut off as more explosions destroyed the underground lab.

Asgore went right into the school and pulled the fire alarm. It would be better to get the children outside and into buses that were evacuating the city.

"We'll have to evacuate too." Undyne decided, looking around for her own belongings, only to see Frisk sit up, "About time you woke up!" She grinned in relief.

Frisk blankly stared past her, right at the smoking mountain, and curled their fingers into the couch's top cushion.

"Flowey... went back inside, didn't he..." They said lowly, their wings flexing and lifting themselves off the ground, "That idiot!" They snapped, shooting for the door only for Undyne to catch them in midair.

"Whoah whoah whoah chill out!"

"Frisk calm down! We need to help everyone evacuate!" Alphys exclaimed, "Forget about Flowey, he probably wanted this to happen!" She moved to help Undyne pull Frisk back to the ground, "I'm going to call Toriel for you okay?"  
She pulled out her phone, about to call Toriel.

Toriel helped evaluate the kids, frowning as she saw Kris trip one of the students.

"Kris now is not the time for this, we need to evacuate. Everyone remain calm," Toriel frowned, trying to call Frisk once more to no avail. She... she hoped they were okay.

Forget about Flowey? Forget about Flowey?! Frisk couldn't just forget about him-they, this timeline was filled with panic and garbage and Flowey might already be dead, they might as well-

Undyne gave Frisk a firm, comforting hug, "Breathe, Frisk!"

Were they hyperventilating? Frisk slowed down, relaxing into the hug of their fishy-smelling friend, gravity returning to them reluctantly. They... were being stupid. Resets didn't just fix everything. If this was how their plan was going to go, then maybe they... needed time to come up with a new one...! If they reset now they'd have no time, Flowey would probably just attack them... Flowey... might as well be burning and screaming in hell. They sobbed.

"Shhh." Undyne tried to comfort them, to no avail.

Alphys paused, her claw hovering over the dial option before sighing and putting it away. She moved over to hug Frisk also, trying to comfort them, "..." she looked at Undyne with a bit of a worried expression. She wondered if Undyne still wanted Flowey dead, or if she was going to have a heroic idea of saving him just for Frisk. She then looked at Frisk and frowned, "He... he can go underground... he can go where the lava can't harm him. If... if he wants to live then he knows how to survive... okay?" It wasn't entirely a lie... but Alphys wasn't aware of how strongly Flowey didn't want to go to the surface. Alphys didn't know Flowey as well as Frisk did.

"Yeah, that guy seems like the kind that won't die so easily." Undyne backed up Alphys's words.

With the hugs and words of their friends grounding them, Frisk reconsidered their options again and again. They couldn't reset, so they couldn't die carelessly, and they weren't about to put Undyne and Alphys in danger either. And... they needed to learn about souls to even begin to think of how to begin to help Flowey. They had... another plan, but that one would make everyone else really sad. It'd disrupt the peace of the world entirely. They might care for Flowey but they weren't throwing away their entire world for him...

"I'm so stupid..." They said quietly, lowering their head, grimacing, "I'm so sorry..." But maybe... could they repeat this entire timeline again? Just for his sake? They needed to thi-

"You are not stupid!" Undyne denied, giving them a noogie that made them yelp in protest and pulled them forcefully out of their darker thoughts.

"Ahhh stop it I'm smart! I'm smart!" Frisk protested.

Alphys smiled a bit, seeming a bit happy at the fact that Frisk seemed to at least be feeling better. After a moment though, she did frown, "A-alright well we need to evacuate now. It's too dangerous to stay here for longer than we already have..." she glanced out the window, a wave of burning ash starting to fall down towards the town.

"Uh oh..." Undyne uttered. She let go of Frisk and opened the door, picking up Alphys again, "You can fly besides me right Frisk?"

Frisk nodded. "Could you call my mom? She's probably really worried." They would reassure her that they were okay, and tell her that MK was at the arcade for his "one hell of a Birthday, huh?"

=

Flowey reached Chara's gravesite, holding the last dream close before setting it on top of the golden flowers, "Chara... I... I know you probably weren't the best person but... I still miss you," he has spoken to Chara's grave many many times in the past. This might be the last time though. He wasn't ignorant as to what was going to happen, what might happen.

He stared at the last dream that laid above Chara's grave, staying silent for a moment, "I'm.... I'm gonna probably see you soon..." his voice wavered, "...If... If something happens after I die... if... if Frisk doesn't reset..." he leaned his stalk onto their grave, equivalent to laying down on it, despite the action costing him more energy than if he stayed upright, "... I know I've said this before but... I wish... I wish you had came back too. I wish I wasn't the only one brought back..."

Flowey shivered as an explosion could be heard echoing throughout the underground, before being replaced with silence.

It was... almost... too silent. He had some time for now, lava did move rather slowly from what he read. 

He sat upright, using a vine to grab hold of the last dream and hold it close again, the small amount of warmth acting like a hug that comforted him.

It was still chilly in the ruins, which for now was a good sign. He knew that as soon as it became warm was when his time was running out.

Tears still left his eyes, as he started to shake a bit from fear. He... he had nowhere he could really go for protection now did he? He could only be under the soil for so long after all, and he doubted there was any place that was safe from the lava. Sure, water and snow would slow it down but... there probably was enough to make it all the way to the ruins, to where he was.  
Even if he managed to get away from the lava, he would wind up on the surface.  
That wasn't entirely something he wanted.

But then again, he didn't really want to die either... he... no. This was what he deserved.  
If Frisk reset then he would come back, and if they didn't? Well... who could really even blame them?

He pressed his forehead against the last dream. What had Frisk been thinking about when they made this, when they were hallucinating. Had they been thinking that they wanted to save him?  
Would they even still want to save him after what he did?

Flowey trembled, clutching the last dream like it was the only thing that would help him. A warm draft could be felt flowing through the ruins, causing him to audibly start sobbing.

The air remained a slightly warm temperature, but it wasn't hot yet. Flowey may be running out of time, but he still had a bit. He paused, and then looked at the last dream. If... if he was going to die anyways he may as well consume it right? Perhaps, perhaps it would help him feel warm inside to.

He hesitated for a moment, before consuming the last dream.

The Last Dream filled Flowey with a wave of Determination, healing his wounds, and since it was Frisk's dreams showed him a false memory, a fantasy of sorts. Just an image of everyone of Frisk's friends together, at a picnic of sorts, in the bright sunshine and there was Flowey there too, smiling as if he really meant it.

Flowey could feel his injured vine recover, letting out an audible sigh of relief.

And then the image came into view in his mind, Frisk's dream.

They... wanted him to be happy with the rest of their friends there. He smiled a bit, before turning and looking down the hallway that left to the rest of the ruins. It was a shame that their dream could never become true. And after everything he did he wouldn't blame frisk if they didn't want to reset to save him. He could hear a sizzling in the far distance, the air now becoming a cozy warm. It wasn't hot yet, but the temperature was increasing. He wondered how long he had left. He... didn't plan on fleeing to the surface.

Flowey decided to hold onto the memory that the last dream placed in his mind. Even if it wasn't possible, it was a nice thought.

But... it made Flowey wonder.

Did Frisk want to save him, because they wanted him to be happy, or did they want to save him.... just so that their happy ending was complete...?

He shivered at the thought.

He would indeed suffer more likely than not. At this point, escaping wasn't really possible.  
Smoke started to fall down the hole that Frisk had fallen down originally, as well as some drops of lava. Flowey was taken out of his thoughts as a single drop of lava landed on one of his petals. The burning was familiar, and he instantly hissed in pain, dipping underground to get the lava off of him.

He popped back up, away from the hole as he watched more droplets of lava fall... before realizing the heat was becoming almost unbearable behind him. He looked down the hallway that he first met Frisk, freezing as he saw a slow moving wave of lava heading his way. He froze, eyes widening at the sight. He... he wasn't sure about this anymore... he could feel himself shaking, a primal fear coursing through himself.

Frisk... wouldn't reset for him after what he did…

He shook more.

He... would stay dead forever…

Flowey let his fear of death overwrite his fear of the surface in that moment. He dipped underground and ran far, far away. When he emerged from the ground all he could see was ash and sut. He ducked into the ground and ran further and further away, until eventually he found fresh air. He couldn't stop shaking. He... he was on the surface.. but... at least he was alive.  
... Frisk hasn't reset.. they.. they weren't going to... his eyes watered and body trembled.  
He really fucked up. He fucked up so much…

He continued to run far far away, until he was tired of running. He had no idea where he was. The world was huge. He felt... so powerless and small.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Arc 1!


End file.
